SonRise Community Church Evening Seminars

Semper Reformanda We now come to Semper Reformanda. Although it is not one of the five solas, it is a Reformation teaching that helps tie them all together. Over the last seven weeks, we traced the ecclesiological history of the medieval church, the need for the Reformation, and the development of the five solasScripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. Together, these reveal how salvation is found in Christ and how the Reformation sought to recapture the gospel. The Origin and Meaning of Semper Reformanda The phrase Semper Reformanda comes from the 17th century, first appearing in a Dutch ministers devotional. The full Latin expression is Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformandathe church reformed, always being reformed. In modern usage, you may also see Fides Reformata, Semper Reformandathe Reformed faith, always reforming. Both emphasize the same idea: continual reformation. Reformation, by definition, is the act of improving or correcting somethingbehavior, institutions, or practicesby removing abuses or corruptions. In a biblical sense, reformation aims to restore the church as closely as possible to its original, scriptural state. This is not a call to constant novelty or progressivism. Rather, it is a call to continually evaluate all we say, do, and believe according to Scripture. When we consider the 15th and 16th centuries, it is important to remember that the Reformers did not set out to break from Rome. Luther did not intend to start a new church or create Lutheranism. His 95 Theses were written to correct errors in the church according to Scripture. He remained a Catholic monk and Augustinian until he was pushed out. The Reformation began as a call to reform the church so that the Catholic Churchthe one true church in their understandingwould once again be holy and faithful to Scripture. Every generation, however, tends to drift from the gospel. Scripture warns that people will seek teachers who tickle their ears, and this has been true in every age. Semper Reformanda calls us to examine whether we are following Scripture or merely following tradition. Biblical Foundations for Semper Reformanda Two key passages illustrate this principle: Acts 17 The Bereans The Bereans received the word with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. They did not simply accept Pauls teaching because of his authority. They tested it against Scripture. This is a model for the church today: do not accept teaching merely because a pastor or leader says it. Pastors are fallible. Scripture alone is infallible. 1 Thessalonians 5:1922 Test Everything Paul instructs the Thessalonians to test everything; hold fast what is good. This includes testing prophecies, teachings, and practices. The church must remain engaged, discerning whether teachings align with Scripture rather than being carried away by every new doctrine or personality. Semper Reformanda is therefore a call to an active, thoughtful, Scripture-centered faith. Common Errors A. Reformation as Nostalgic Renewal Some interpret reformation as returning to an idealized pastwhether medieval Catholicism, early church asceticism, or Puritanism. Each generation tends to romanticize a previous era. But no era of church history was perfect. Every age had blind spots, including our own. The Reformers did look back to the early church and the original languages (ad fontes), but they did so to better understand Scripturenot to canonize past traditions or personalities. B. Reformation as Endless Progressivism Others believe always reforming means always changing. This leads to churches conforming to cultural trendsaffirming whatever society affirms in the name of love or inclusion. This is not biblical reformation; it is capitulation. C. Reformation as Endless Purification On the opposite extreme, some pursue a pure church through constant division. John Frame famously called this phenomenon Machens Warrior Childrenthose who inherited Machens zeal for doctrinal purity but turned it into perpetual warfare. This leads to fragmentation, where every disagreement becomes grounds for separation. Erasmus warned Luther that schism breeds more schism, and history has proven him right. Every generation faces new distortions of biblical truth: Grace alone can become hyper-grace, denying repentance or holiness. Faith alone can be subtly replaced with faith plus works or faith plus doctrinal precision. Christ alone can become Christ plus tradition, Christ plus sacraments, or Christ plus theological systems. Scripture alone can be overshadowed by favorite theologians, denominations, or cultural assumptions. Semper Reformanda calls us to continually evaluate whether our beliefs and practices align with Scripturenot with tradition, culture, or personal preference. Reformed theology holds two commitments: Reformed Scripture is the foundation of all doctrine and practice. Reforming We continually examine ourselves to ensure we remain faithful to Scripture. This protects the church from: Traditionalism (doing things because weve always done it this way) Cultural accommodation (doing things because the world says we should) Instead, we pursue a thoughtful, Scripture-driven faith that seeks to honor God in all things. Conclusion Semper Reformanda reminds us that the church must never drift into complacency. We must not coast or slide into neutral. Instead, we actively seek the Spirits guidance through the Word, allowing Scripture to teach, correct, admonish, and transform us. That is the heart of Semper Reformanda.

Transcription: Soli Deo Gloria So as I said, we come tonight to Soli Deo Gloria, the final sola on our list. So this is the fifth of the five solas, and we've worked through up to this point now. Sola Scriptura, that's at the foundation for everything that we've discussed, that from scripture alone, we understand who God is, we understand who we are, we understand salvation. So it all begins with the scriptures that teach us, that inform us, that drive us. So from there, we then talked about Sola Gratia, so we talked about that grace alone. So it is by grace we are saved, it is not of ourselves. And then from grace, we talked about faith, and it is that grace that gives faith. So Sola Fide, okay? And then from faith, we then saw what is it that, who gives us grace, who gives us faith, but Christ alone, and that there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved. So we talked about Christ alone. So Christ is our all in all, and that is where we left off last week, as we now come to the ultimate finale in Soli Dei Gloria, for the glory of God alone. So this is our topic, is for the God's glory alone. So we'll look at this in three distinct ways tonight. So first, we'll talk about a historical perspective, we'll talk a little bit about Reformation, some of the misconceptions when people think of this term, then we'll deal with a theological understanding of the term, and then finally, we'll look at a practical or a common way that we can apply this term to our lives. So we think historically, the idea of glory, the glory of God, of God of glory. We come first, of course, to Luther again. We have the Luther rose before us here in the Reformation. And one of the things that people will critique about Soli Deo Gloria is the fact that Luther himself was against a theology of glory, okay? So part of this will become a misunderstanding, but the theology of glory is ultimately Luther's biggest pet peeve. When he looked at the Roman Catholic Church, what he said often is that their theology was all about glory and transcendence in God apart from the humiliation of God. And so one of the things that people will pick up on is how can the Reformers be about the glory of God alone if Luther was so against God's glory? This is to clearly be a straw man argument because Luther in no way, shape, or form was against the glory of God. However, when we think of it, the glory of God must be placed in its proper context. And the proper context of God's full glory begins and ends with the salvation of mankind through the humiliation of God, through the death of Christ. So that it is not simply about doing the proper works and God gets glory as you do great things for him, but rather the ultimate and full glory of God is revealed in his son. So this is what Luther will make his primary theology. It is through Christ alone, the death of Christ alone, that Christ and God get the fullest experience of glory. It's not in the riches, it's not in the big buildings, it's not in all the fancy architecture. That is not where the glory of God is seen. The glory of God is seen ultimately and fully in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ alone. That, the theology of the cross or the theology of humiliation, is the cornerstone of Luther's theology which gives God glory. So again, so one of those things people will highlight, again, thinking of Luther being anti-glory, Luther is not anti-glory, but glory in its proper context. Again, so it's not about the big shiny things, not the big things that are sought for God's glory, but the son alone is what Luther will highlight. The other critique of this in a reformed perspective becomes Calvin. So people will say one of the things that Calvin often spoke about is the glory of God given to humanity, that humanity finds glory in God and therefore in themselves are glorified. That may sound confusing, but there's an emphasis that Calvin highlights a lot of the dignity of mankind. So it's where we get the fact that the humanity begins in Genesis 1 and 2, not Genesis 3. Often people think of reformed doctrine as Genesis 3 over, like we're just worms and dust and humanity is of no value and is just, God was just nice to us. We were of nothing. Though Calvin would be what we say is Genesis 1 and 2, that mankind is made in God's image. God gave mankind image and in such he gave them a form of glory because mankind took on God's perspective. Mankind is of value, not in of his intrinsic self, but in the fact that they bear God's image thus gives them a value greater than creation. Okay. So this will often be Calvin's argument. Okay. It's not that Christ died because he loved his image so much, but that he loved himself to gain the most glory in our salvation. So Calvin has this understanding in view. And so when we look at Calvin.Right, and he's gonna highlight things like Isaiah 43 For I am the Lord your God's okay speaking to Israel in their salvation I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel your Savior I gave Egypt as your ransom cush and see but in exchange for you because you are precious in my eyes and honored or Gloried is also a way that is translated and I love you I give men in return for you people in exchange for your life fear not for I am with you I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west. I will gather you I will say to the north give up and to the south do not withhold bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth Everyone who is called by my name who I created for my glory whom I formed So gal Calvin will often connect the glory of God To his salvation of mankind that in his love for them. He is most glorified Okay, these are very similar themes but highlighting them from different directions So when people say things like Calvin and Luther were against God's glory as we understand it They were not they approached them from different directions than the Roman Catholic Church and in such we're critiquing a false understanding and As we travel through history the glory of God will become a major theme. There is one famous composer Does anyone know who signed all of his works? With to God's glory Johan Sebastian Bach signed all of his Writings with the solo SDG. So SDG is on all of his writings It's because he believed that every work of mankind should be done for the glory of God So after pouring his heart on it was simply for God's glory and fame. So this becomes a theme throughout History and again, we see it often in the arts that performance for the glory of God supremely and so everything is done for the exaltation of God's name and So that's just a brief kind of touching on some overview historical points Some of the misnomers we'll get into here in our theological understanding So when we think of the glory of God the first thing that it is not The glory of God is not the same thing when you read in Scripture the glory of the Lord Okay, so usually we saw this last week in the book of Exodus that the glory of the Lord would be shown in the morning Okay When the manna would come it said the glory of the Lord would be shown. It's the first time it appears in the Bible The glory of the Lord shown round about them and they were greatly afraid Everyone know when we talk about the shepherds the glory of the Lord is a manifestation of glory in an actual physical sign so that's like you think of the kind of glory they're like, ah God Okay. So when we talk about solo de gloria, this is not that this is different. Okay, so usually we use the word glory of the Lord for the God knocking people down showing himself Different phrase. Okay, just so we are clear on all our terminology Sometimes people get these things mixed up. So we want to begin with this foundation So we talked about the glory of God alone. It is for his prestige for his name So when we think glory, it's that lifted high is that picture so put on a pedestal above all else So glory in that phrase not a physical manifestation of himself, so they are Different and so for our historical theological understand This is the direction that the Reformers went is that everything that happened was for God's glory alone Specifically as I think you've begun to see is salvation is the purpose Is the purpose being driven in the solace? It's who is the one who saves how does God save? How do we understand salvation? This was what the Reformers were fighting for was a true understanding of the gospel So what do we believe and how do we believe it? And so ultimately it is that salvation itself exists to give God the most glory Okay, so each of the pieces along the way culminate here in all of those things must be true for God to be most glorified If anywhere along the way those four first steps break apart God is not perfectly glorified for in each of those other states something else can receive glory Okay, something else can be put on a pedestal as having achieved Something and so this drives the understanding of Soli de Gloria that all of this leads to this beautiful picture that God is supremely God There is no one else who can match his work. And so we begin in Romans 11 So it's the text I want to begin with thinking theologically. This is usually where most people will highlight Romans 1133 through 36. This is the end of the theological section of the book of Romans Okay, one of the thingsthat we highlight in Paul's writing. Paul loves to do theology first, application second. Okay, and there are several points along the way where he'll end with these little doxologies or praises of God as he transitions into application. And so this is what we also see in Romans. And Romans, of course, is the gospel theological text. If you want a deep understanding of the theology of the gospel, it's the book of Romans. Unpacks it, deep theology. There's not any really specific Romans-based issues. What I mean, when you read Paul's letter, he's not addressing any issues in Rome. He doesn't know them. He doesn't really have a relationship with them. He wants to. He wants to go there. He wants to meet them. But I don't know you, and since I don't know you, what am I gonna give you? The thing that I'm most passionate about, the gospel. So I'm gonna give you the theology of it. I'm gonna give you the basic application of it. That's what Romans is. And so you're not lost in any, like, well, what's the culture like? It is the gospel. It's pure and simple and beautifully written. And so this is where we go to even now as Paul finalized his theological discussion and makes this transition, he ends it this way, beginning in 33. Oh, the depth and the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Okay, after giving all this theology, this is what he says. How unsearchable are his judgments. How inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid. For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever. Amen. All glory, all majesty to him alone. All that is said and done is to make much of him. And we see this throughout the books of Paul's writing. Paul and Peter and Jude and Revelation, or given to us by John, all have these themes and will all have these statements time and time again reflecting on God alone is the one who receives glory. Ephesians 3, 21, to him be glory in the church and in Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever. Philippians 4, which we just went through not that long ago as Sam worked through it. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, amen. Peter in his works in verse 4, 11, whoever speaks and whoever speaks oracles of God, whoever serves is one who serves with strength in order that everything God may be glorified through Christ. So in 1 Peter 4, he's given this list of how to live out the faith and in the end for the glory of God, that God may be glorified in everything we do, he will be made much of. And so all this begins to point to the fact of for God to be most glorified, for God to be most put on display, it is that he is the one who has done all these things. He is the one who has saved us. So the theological foundation begins with the fact that God alone is the one who causes all things to be. Okay, so in this series, we've been looking at these individual pieces and he is the one who has brought it about. And in so doing, he is most honored and glorified throughout history. So in Egypt, we talked about the fact that he brought them alone through the Red Sea. Did anyone help him accomplish anything in the Exodus? No, he did it all. Even as we got to the fact of the last three weeks, they've hit crisis after crisis and they go to Moses and each time Moses is like, I don't know, I can't fix it. I can't make bitter water sweet, it's a little bit beyond my pay grade. You have no food, congratulations, neither do I. We have no water, neither do I. These are not things that I can accomplish. Only God can accomplish it. And in so doing, he receives all the glory because only he has done these things. They accomplish nothing on their own. They do not have the power and this is what is continually reminded of them. All the more we continually see this in the life of Israel. God reminds them time and time again, he acts for his glory. Isaiah 40 to eight, I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Theological understanding highlights God is glorified alone in the world. So even when we think about life and we think about salvation, we think about one true God, Israel, okay? When we think about Israel's worship of God, it is to be only to him, for he is the only one worthy of being glorified. For all other carved idols are worthless. Again, Isaiah's got long jokes about tossing them into the fires and there's lots of sarcastic points in the book of Isaiah. Enjoy the book of Isaiah, it's fun. So does Ezekiel. They've got many stinging condemnations against idolatry. But we too are quick.to not give full glory to God as we turn to other things in the world. And God continually reminds us, specifically again in the life of Israel, while he is a loving God, that he is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, it does not mean he passes over our blatant idolatry. He did not pass over Israel's blatant idolatry, but rather calls them to the mat when the time was right so that these words are true, only I am worthy of glory. Only I will be glorified. So we think at the end of all time, when we get to Revelation, all knees, every tongue will confess that God alone, Christ Jesus is king to his glory alone. It is not anyone else that can receive this glory. For he heard every creature in heaven and earth and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and all of them saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. When the time ends, this is the song of the elders. This is the song of the saints. To them alone, to God alone is all glory from now until the end of time. For they alone have saved. He alone has saved. He alone is the one worthy. He is the one who commands all of our life. No one compares to him. From beginning to end, he is the one who has created mankind. He is the one who has given life to mankind. He is the one who's given the law to mankind. He is the one who's given resurrection and hope to mankind through repentance and faith in Christ. He is the one who's done all these things, not to make much of us but all the more to make much of him. He is our God. And so our texts continually reinforce this thing that the Apostles were clear that we must remember that everything in our lives must focus on this end. So that's why as we think about that's the theological, it transitions into our practical outworking. So what does this mean? I think we can mentally go, yes, all glory to God. He is the one who has saved us. The Epistles repeat this, but what does that practically look like? How does this shape us? And I think this is actually the most important part when we think of Soli Deo Gloria, is how does it actually work itself out in our lives? Because when we asked last week, Adam asked that question, what is the most ignored of the Solas? This is ultimately what I still think is the most ignored of the five Solas is Soli Deo Gloria, because it kind of becomes a passing, yes, all glory to God. And then we just move on. Like we say it, but do people actually mean it? Or is it simply just a motion people go through? It's like the Emmy speech, I'd like to thank God, my mother, everyone in the world that has helped. Do I actually mean it? Or is like, well that's what I'm supposed to say. So we're supposed to say all glory to God, cool, it's in Scripture. But does that shape who we are? Do we think about our lives in the fact of, do our actions reflect those who live for God's glory? This takes us to 1st Corinthians 10. So again, the book of 1st Corinthians dealing with a church that has lots of issues. Okay, 1st Corinthians, it's probably one of the most messed up churches in Scripture that we have a long epistle to. Again, you can debate some of the churches in Revelation. But 1st Corinthians has a lot of stuff going on, a lot of confusion. Okay, it's also the church Paul probably spent the most time with. He spent a long time with them. Before he left, he wrote them a very lengthy letter addressing some of their issues. Technically, we know roughly he wrote at least three letters. We only have two of them. But he spent a lot of time with them. In the book of 1st Corinthians, it'll also say that they're the proof that he is an apostle because they came to faith. This messed up church with all their problems is proof that Paul's an apostle. It's probably one of my most, I find the most fun statements in the book of 1st Corinthians. But this point is he goes, when looking at all the things, when all of our life come together, so whether you eat or drink, and he's talking about idolatry and how people eat and drink and how they live their lives, do whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. So be purposeful. Okay, so if the aim of our lives is to live for the glory of God, that means that our lives must be lives of purpose. Is the glory of God a passive thing or is a purposeful thing that we strive for? Again, when we talk about the Israelites of old, idolatry was a chosen, that you're choosing idolatry over God. You're choosing to add the Asher poles and the Baal worship and all these other ones. They're willfully choosing that God is not enough. Okay, in our day and age we don't...have it that obvious. Okay, we're not usually going to random bail. I don't even know if you probably could. I'm sure there's some part in Pasco County because it's Pasco County that you can still do that. If people have lived here long enough, you know what I mean. But just we're a weird County. So that picture, though, of idolatry in our context tends to be much more passive idolatry. Okay, we equally turn to the world for all of our answers instead of God. We just don't have graved images that we do it to. Okay, but we will look to the world, we'll look to politicians, we'll look to science, we'll look to all sorts of things to solve our problems and not to God. And this in many ways is idolatry because part of it is we're not thinking volitionally. Again, not that those aren't good things, not that you shouldn't go to a doctor, you should. It's good to have those things. But what is our goal in all of our actions? Day by day, do you think of your life as being lived for the glory of God? Do you stop at all during your day to think, do these actions reflect those who are seeking to glorify God? Or are we passively going through life every single day? Do we passively simply exist? And this is the admonition that we have in our text. Whatever you do, and again this isn't even like a don't do things, this is whatever you do. Whether you eat or drink, however you are choosing to live out the faith in accordance with God's rules and admonitions in Scripture, do it for God's glory. Do it with joy. Do it to make the most of who God is. Because that's ultimately what living for the glory of God is, is living to make God most known. Okay, do we do that? When we go out the door in the morning, do we think about how we can make God known today? So I think about recently I was at a, we had a pastor's conference with some of our friends. They did a conference down here called Practically Pastoring. And one of the guys there is a t-shirt designer. He does t-shirts. You may have seen Adam and I wear them. He's got one that says, how can I pray for you? Okay, it's become like a giant movement all of a sudden, like in the last year. But he actually started it almost three years ago. So when it was just simply the fact that he was traveling around the country, him and his wife, he does t-shirt design. So he has a printing thing so he can travel and just meet people and do stuff. So he's got a lot of flexibility. It was just, what can I do to make the most of God while we're traveling the country in an RV? He's like, I print t-shirts. So one day he, the first he started with just putting a sign out. He just put a sign out like, how can I use my day for the glory of God? Just a little camper sign that says, how can I pray for you? That's it. Just every, every random RV site, they just put the sign out front, go about their day. Said over a year, not one person ever stopped to ask for prayer. Every single day, put it out. Nothing, nothing. Kept praying like, Lord, use this for something. He said they were in Texas, had been about a year, and he was pretty much done. He's like, I don't know. They were at the back of a campground. Like the person sent them to the farthest place possible. He's like, there was no access. Nobody could see us. But he just was like, I guess I'll put the sign out. So he put his sign out out front. He's like, there's not even anyone here. But, so what have you been doing? So he's like, this is what I feel the Lord has for me. So he puts his how I can pray for you out next to his little camper. He's like, no one's gonna see this. And he said later that night, someone knocked on his door. Very confusing. Because also people tend to leave you alone, apparently, at RV parks. But it was actually the camp, it was actually the maintenance guy who runs the camp. And so his immediate reaction is like, this guy's gonna be mad about my sign. It's like, technically it's like it could be advertising. People have made comments. And so he's like, this guy's gonna be mad about my sign. And he's like, and that's not what happened. The guy's actually like, hey is this your sign? It's like, yeah. It's like, will you pray for me right now? And they had a whole conversation. And the guy actually walked him back. He's like, so, like just going through his entire life. Like he was supposed to move back home. Money fell through. His entire life had begun to fall apart. His like father had died. Like it was just a massive, everything was falling apart. Life was bad. I just need someone to pray for me. And so he's prayed with him there. They kept walking. Kind of worked through this whole discussion. And then he took him to a tree. Which personally this still sounds like a creepy moment. He's like, and he's like, and that's where I was gonna hang myself an hour ago before I saw your sign. He's like, I already, the ropes already there. Like it's, which is still a creepy story. But, but there is a fact he's like, and I just, he's like, there's no way anyone could see the sign. The only reason he saw it is because he was riding his bike away to do things. And it's like, I just saw it while I was going. So, I was like.I got a shot. I'll ask this guy to pray for me. Maybe it'll do something. And so that then started a movement. He prayed with him again. He still has contact with him. Not that the guy got saved. That's always what people want to say. But his life began to ask questions. He still apparently has conversations with him. But that began to like, clearly the Lord was doing something. And just every day, being faithful to what he felt the Lord, that I'm gonna give God glory with while we're here. So whatever the Lord has, now there's t-shirts everywhere. It's very popular. He wears them. Airports, people stop him all the time to pray. We have them. It's become a movement of just being purposeful with your day. That's all it was about. It's like, how can I use my day purposely to make much of God? And prayer is a very simple thing that we forget. And not just a like, oh, thank you for your prayer request. Okay. Like, but actually stopping and actively praying for people. And doing that well. As an act of making much of God. And again, some of that sounds very super spiritual. Some of it's literally just hanging out with people. Jesus hung out with sinners. For the purpose of making his father known. For making salvation known. He hung out with people. It wasn't just like, come to church. It was like, I'll come to your place. And we'll hang out. And we'll talk. And we'll get to know each other. It's using the time that we have to make the most of God. And in that is also understanding that the only way people can come to salvation is by God. You can't make them come to faith. It is all the work of God alone who does that. We are just faithful with the message. And that's where we get the encouragement that God is the one who works. And God does amazing things for his glory. To make much of himself. And that's not an egotistical thing. The one who is worthy of all glory, honor, and power is the one who has created all things. If there's anyone who, it's always something, is there anyone who can be egotistical? Clearly it's God. He's the one who has done all things. Worthy of praise, honor, and glory. Thus, he is the one who receives all our praise. And so this is where this historical understanding has continually progressed, is the fact that the glory of God is our pursuit. Now some can abuse it. Of course, as I said, it's been abused by people where it just becomes a passing. I had a professor in Bible college who used to say this all the time. He would quote Isaiah 42 all the time. I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor praise to carve idols. Became like a, just beat people over the head that God is amazing and you all suck. This is recorded. But that was like his mantra. It's like, okay, everyone is bad and God is good. Awesome. Okay. That even we had one girl who's like, well, how does this change my life? Well, God is glorified and that will change your life. Okay. It just starts becoming like this blanket statement that loses its, like the glory of God motivates our lives because it does shape us. Our understanding of everything we do is motivated by, should be motivated. Do we do this? Of course not. We understand that that isn't how every single day goes, but the motivation is, but that is what we are called to continue to pursue. And he is the one who continues to do this for us. So we're called to grow in these endeavors. And so I hope that as we continue to push on next week, as I said, we're going to deal with the idea of Semper Reformanda. We're going to unpack each of the five and highlight some different ways that we see that continually being worked out, how each of the five still have their own work, even today, as we look back on them. Well, again, we'll talk about the idea of always reforming. Again, always reforming is not always progressing. Those are different things. Okay. Often people think that the reformation was progress. It was not progress. It was reformation, which simply means to reform around the original. We're going back. Okay. So it's that scripture is our guide. So we reform around the gospel. So reformed. We are reforming it back to as it should be. And so as we see throughout history, it's very easy to get lost in tangents. And so history is full of tangents. Doctrine and theology is full of tangents. And often tangents become priorities, and then we lose the gospel along the way. So next week we'll unpack how those different, how the solos often become tangents that become their own false idols and how we need to continually be reforming back to the gospel, the heart of the faith found in Christ alone. So that is what is on deck next week as we bring our solos to a close. So questions, comments, thoughts, charges of heresy.

Well, tonight, we're continuing on in the five solas series, the five big themes of the Protestant Reformation, which are sola scriptura. What does this mean? Scripture alone, sola gratia, what's this mean? Sola fide. We come now to solus Christus, or in other words, Christ alone is what this means. That is tonight, Lord willing. Next week, Pastor Andrew will do the penultimate study, soli deo gloria, to the glory of God alone. I say penultimate because it's not the last one. There'll be one more after that on semper reformanda, which means always reforming. But tonight, as we look at solus Christus, I want to, in a sense, do something different. I want to start with my conclusion. I'm going to restate it, but I want to state it first to show you where we're going, why this matters so much. When we turn to solus Christus, we turn to the linchpin, the hub, the apex, and the center of all Reformation theology, indeed the center of all doctrine together. Christ is the glory of sola scriptura, for He alone is the Word made flesh, and He alone is the interpretive end of all Scripture. Christ is the glory of sola gratia, for He alone is the grace of God personified. Christ is the glory of sola fide, for He alone is the object of saving faith. And Christ is the glory of soli deo gloria, for He alone is the radiance of the glory of God. That's where we're going. I now want to make an argument to get there. And to get there, I want to use the book of Hebrews chapter 1. What were you guessing? Oh, okay. Yeah. That would be a good one. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. That's great. We're going Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1 to 4. Sorry for the letdown. But this one's just as good. So the author of Hebrews, whoever it was in these first four verses, brings his readers quickly to the main point. Jesus is better. Jesus is better than all that's come before. Specifically, for us, as we look into these four verses, I have three points to bring to you tonight to show you the glory of solus Christus, of Christ alone. Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. It's in that order in verse 1 to 4 in Hebrews chapter 1. Historically, John Calvin would call these three offices of Christ the menus triplex. He was the first one in all of church history to give these three titles a label and kind of grouped them together. Ever since then, we have been minded to see this. It's not he didn't invent this. He just kind of made the categorizations and gave it the label, and it's stuck ever since, and there's glorious reasons for it. So let's see first. prophet. This is, well gosh, let me read our text and then we'll get into it. Hebrews 1 1 to 4 says this, long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. See first, Jesus as prophet. In the first two verses of Hebrews we see a great deal, not of what man has done to get to God, but what God has done to reveal himself to man. It's here where we see Jesus as prophet. Long ago at many times in many ways God spoke. This means God is not a silent God. God is a God who speaks. If God had remained silent, nothing that has been made would have been made. Yet into the dark void of Genesis 1 2 came God's strong and creative word, the power of his word. Genesis 1 3, let there be light, and there was light. God not only spoke all creation into existence, but as the author of Hebrews says here, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. This means that the same voice that crafted the world called out to God's people through the prophetic office. The calling of the prophet then was to stand in the gap between God and his people as God's representative to speak to the people. This was the role of the prophet. God would reveal his secret counsel to the prophet and then they would reveal the same to God's people. The prophet was not to edit, alter, amend, improve, or remove anything from the message to any degree. They were to give the message as is. This the prophets did in many ways from Moses to Malachi, whether in writing, proclaiming, miracles, or visions. This was how it worked. God revealed himself to his people by his word through his prophet. But in verse 2, notice the transition. In verse 2, there's a transition to something new. But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. So notice firsthand that the author of Hebrews believes that we're not waiting for a future period of time called the last days. No, the author believes that the last days have clearly already begun. Specifically, the event that marked the transition into the last days. God, who once spoke by the prophets, began speaking and spoke through His Son." So here we see that God reveals Himself to His people in two stages according to Hebrews 1. First, to His old covenant people by the prophets, and now to His new covenant church by His Son. We generally could say that these two stages correspond to what we call the Old and New Testament or the Old and New Covenant. God's divine revelation then is progressive. I don't mean the idea that God evolves from one generation to the next. Of course not. God's the same forever and ever. I also do not mean that revelation progresses from something less true to more true, less worthy to more worthy, less mature to more mature. The progression of God's divine revelation from Old Testament to New Testament is a progression from promise to fulfillment or shadow to reality. So there is a true progression here, but be sure to note that God's progression and how He reveals Himself to His people is a progression that leads to Christ. And yet, it's a progression that leads no further than Christ. Prophet after prophet was sent by God to God's people with messages of hope, justice, mercy, judgment, and the promise of a coming Redeemer. Well, when that Redeemer came, God spoke through His Son, the full and final word. The contrast being made in verse 1 and 2 is vast. It is great. God once spoke, once spoke in many ways to Israel by the prophets. God now speaks in one way to the church by His Son. Once the prophets spoke the Word of God to God's people, now Jesus Christ is the very Word of God come to God's people. Therefore, Christ is the perfect, full, and final revelation of who God is and what God requires of man. Or we could just say it, Jesus is true prophet. Hebrews doesn't end there. We now see Jesus as true priest. This picks up in the remainder of verse 2 and in the beginning of verse 3. Here we also learn a great deal, not of what man has done to become right with God, but what God has done to make man right with Himself. This is where we see Jesus stand forth in the text as priest. But before we get to the great priestly statement at the end of verse 3, look at how it begins at the end of verse 2, whom He appointed, the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world. He, Christ, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. These identity statements about who Christ is are loaded with life-altering reality. So loaded, in fact, that to do justice to this, we could give one sermon on each of these phrases and that would not be enough. For our purposes tonight, we'll just notice them briefly. Who is Jesus Christ? What does Jesus do? Answer, Jesus is the heir of all things. For his father owns everything and has given everything into his hands. Jesus is the creator of the world, for he is the very word of God, which was God and was with God in the beginning. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, for he is the ultimate display of the God we meet in Exodus 3 in the burning bush moment. He is the exact imprint of God's nature. For Jesus, God the Father, was pleased to have all the fullness of the deity dwell in Jesus bodily. And lastly, Jesus is the upholder of the universe, for he is not only the powerful word which made the world, he is the powerful word which sustains the world. This Christ, who created all, sustains all, is fully God, is majestic, is sovereign. This is the one who acted as our priest. You see how that all leads to priest? At the end of verse 3, he and he alone made purification for sins. Now we come to the great priestly work of Christ, and we can make a contrast with prophet and priest. As the prophet was God's representative to the people, so to the priest, just reverse the trajectory, was the people's representative to God. They both stood in the gap, but one was representing God to the people, that's prophet, then priest representing people to God. That is the role of priest. And being the representative of the people, the priest would have to make sacrifices. Sacrifices for their own sins, sacrifices for the people's sins, sacrifices on feast days, on festival days, sacrifice upon sacrifice, standing in the gap for the people of God before God. This was the calling, the duty, and the privilege of the priest. And in this work, we see the glory of the priestly work of Christ, for he too made a sacrifice for sin. He too stood in the gap between God and man, but he made no sacrifice for his own sins. He didn't have any, and he didn't make repeated sacrifices. He made one, and the glory of his sacrifice is that he was the sacrifice. He didn't just offer something else. He was the sacrifice. Two massive realities stand forth here. First, his sacrifice is a one-time event, which covers all the sin of all God's people for all time. He was the sacrifice for the people, as we've mentioned. The Westminster Shorter Catechism quotes it like this, our Redeemer, as our Redeemer Christ served in the office of priest in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice. to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God and in making continual intercession for us. So this great high priest, Jesus, not only created the heavens, but came down from the heavens to make new creations out of us. He not only sustains and upholds the universe by the word of His power, but He allowed Himself to be prevailed upon so that we would know the power of the cross. He and He alone stood in the gap between the holy God and sinful man and He and He alone bridged the gap by offering up Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice for sins. In other words, He alone is the true priest. But notice what follows right on the heels in Hebrews 1 of this prophet-priest description. We find Jesus as King right there at the end of verse 3 and 4. After He made purification for sins, what did He do? He sat down. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. It's worth noting that in the instructions, we're going to get here, Lord willing, one day, TBD on how fast we're going to move through this section of Exodus, but when we get the instruction for the furniture and all the furnishings of the tabernacle and the temple, there is no instruction to make a seat for the high priest. There's no instruction to make a seat for the high priest. It's because He was always up and He was always working, making all kinds of various sacrifices for all kinds of sins that the people and Himself were committing. But here we see something different with Christ. After He made purification for sins once for all, He sat down. Why did He sit down? It was a physical way of showing what He just said verbally. After all His suffering, right before death, He said, it is finished. And then after that verbal statement and the three days in the tomb, He ascends and sits down to show His work as Redeemer is finished. He didn't sit down in a lawn chair or a lazy boy. He sat on a throne. And not just any throne, it was God's throne. What does this mean? He's the King. It means He's the King. Christ is not just true prophet, not just true priest, He is true King. The King that anyone and everyone has always desired. And of course, no surprise, this makes me think of Tolkien's third book in the trilogy, The Return of the King. This moment when all the storylines are coming to a conclusion and all the heroes, they have labored and toiled and they have fought to aid Frodo and Sam in getting the ring into the fires of Mount Doom to destroy the enemy. That all happened, but what happened then after the enemy and his ring were destroyed? Aragorn took his rightful place as King in the city of Gondor and sat down on the throne. What was the result of him being enthroned as King, as really the King of man in Middle-earth? Peace came to all the lands of men, of elves, and dwarves. As wonderful as that is, the events of Hebrews 1, 1-4 are infinitely greater. When we see Christ the King put the devil to an open shame in His crucifixion and resurrection and in His death and in His resurrection, in His ascension, in His enthronement and in His session, His rule over all things, this is a deeper peace that comes from the greatest King of all, reigning over all. creation. This is Christ the King, prophet, priest, king. All the offices, you could say, were instituted in the Old Testament because they really mattered and they played a role for the time and the context that they were first given in, but the ultimate purpose for the role of prophet and priest and king was to prepare the way for the greatest prophet, priest, and king. For every prophet, priest, and king of old, either sinned, was a failure, or was not enough on their own. Only Jesus perfectly, fully, and finally, flawlessly executed all these roles and they all find the pinnacle in Him. So, soulless Christus still matters. As I've done every time, I have ended with an illustration from Martin Luther's life. Let's do another one tonight to answer this question about why soulless Christus is still important. Once Martin Luther began seeing the power of the gospel, grace, and the powerlessness of his own works to save, he was very young at this time. He had just, well, he had not done it yet, but he was still learning these things. He heard of a famous preacher coming to town and he just arrived in Wittenberg and was setting up a stage and his name was John Tetzel. Tetzel came into the town square and he would preach a message like this. Martin Luther would hear this firsthand. Good people of Wittenberg, have you not at one time or another burned your hand in the fire and felt it torment you day and night? How greatly you ought to fear then the fires of hell, which are able to burn and torment your soul for all eternity. Your Pope, Pope Leo X offers you grace for the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tonight and only tonight, you can snatch any loved one or rescue yourself from the fires of hell for a few coins. For when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. This was Tetzel's sermon, short to the point and entirely heretical. The technical term for this is an indulgence and Tetzel just so happened to be the most famous indulgence preacher of the 16th century, leading up to the times of the Reformation. Luther heard this firsthand and was vexed in his soul. Why? Because Tetzel's message was clear. Give money to the Pope for the building of this new building and you will be saved. In response to Tetzel's preaching, Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses and posted it on the church door in Wittenberg and he wrote many other numerous books against the preaching of John Tetzel and the wicked doctrines of the Pope's past and present. For writing 95 Theses and all the other books that he did, Pope Leo X sent Luther a written warning called a papal bull, a warning that if you do not repent or recant of your writings, you will be excommunicated from the Holy Catholic Church. Luther responded after receiving this letter by publicly burning the letter. Very Luther-like, right? In the following Sunday, after burning this letter publicly before the townspeople, he said this in his sermon, yes, you've heard it's true, I've been summoned to Rome. While I'm gone, remember, we obsess about indulgences. God is not an angry God who only wants your money. Those who see God as angry do not see Him rightly. If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior and we have a God of love and to see God in faith is to look on His friendly heart. So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this, I admit that I deserve death and hell. what of it? For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is one day I shall be also." So you see how in Luther's sermon his response to the indulgence preaching of John Tetzel was to say that Christ's work and nothing that we do, Christ's work alone saves. Now why does this still matter today? You may think that the preaching of indulgences was a thing of the past, but you would be mistaken. The Roman Catholic Church not only still uses and still offers indulgences of all kinds, but the current Pope still upholds the practice. Remember, when an indulgence is offered, what's being communicated is that if you do this, if you go here on this pilgrimage, if you give this amount or that amount of money, you will be saved from the fires and the torment of hell. There seems in this theology no place for Christ standing forth as true prophet, true priest, and true king. The center of Tetzel's preaching is that you save yourself when you contribute money to the Pope. In 1992, Joseph Carl Ratzinger, or Pope Benedict, rewrote the Catholic's official catechism. He did not remove the whole section on indulgences, that was affirmed throughout the ages, and he rewrote it, put it in. It's still affirmed today. To date, the Roman Catholic Church has never denied the preaching or teaching or practice of the indulgence. Luther heard this and it vexed his soul, because the work of Christ was put aside for the work of man. And the same is true today in one of the largest so-called Christian denominations in the world. It ought to vex us that the work of Christ is thrust aside for the work of man. He alone is true prophet, true king, and true priest. We need to return to solus Christus. So what I said in the beginning, I say again, when we turn to this particular sola of the five, we come to the linchpin, the hub, the apex, and the center of all Reformation and biblical theology. Christ is the glory of sola scriptura, for he alone is the Word made flesh, and he alone is the interpretive end of all Scripture. Christ is the glory of sola gratia, for he alone is the grace of God personified. Christ is the glory of sola fide, for he alone is the object of saving faith, and Christ is the glory of sola Deo gloria, for he alone is the radiance of the glory of God. Far be it from any of us to think that the Reformation or any theology that comes out of it boasts a label of Reformed or Luther or Calvin or any other famous man or woman of history. We need to be vexed if any man-centeredness comes into our doctrine, because if it comes in the middle of it, it removes Christ from it. It's his work and his work alone that brings us back to God. We have no need for any other prophet to provide us with new revelation. We have no need for any other priest to mediate between us and God, and we have no need for any other king to rule God's church, for Christ is prophet, priest, and king. He alone stands at the center of God's eternal purposes, and thus Christ and Christ alone must stand at the center of all of our life and doctrine in the church. Amen.

Romans chapter 1, verses 16 and 17 say the following. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. To the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, it being the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written. The righteous shall live by faith. This passage is not only the distinctive theme of Pauls letter to the Romans, we could go further to say that this passage could be viewed as a summary, a two verse summary of Pauls entire theology. Pauls entire theology, its all about the gospel, that in the gospel, we see Gods power and those who believe grab hold of this power, grab hold of this God, not by works, not by what they do, but by faith. They find it by faith and they then live by faith. This is a massive text to lean into. I want to ask three questions of this passage and hopefully provide you three answers to these questions. Question one, why is Paul eager to preach the gospel in Rome? If you just back up one verse, in Romans chapter 1 verse 15 he says, so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Why is Paul eager to preach the gospel to Christians who live in Rome? Dont they as Christians already know the gospel? Havent they already believed the gospel? Well apparently, the answer is yes, of course, but apparently Paul thinks the gospel is something that Christians need to hear just as much as he knows that the gospel is something that non-Christians need to hear because for Paul, the gospel itself is not just a call for the lost to be saved, the gospel is a call for the saved to keep on living by faith. So this is why Paul is eager to preach the gospel in Rome. Rome, peculiar, special context for this letter. He would have known about all the immoral activity and social issues that were present and going on in Rome. Why didnt he want to address those things? I mean, Rome was a city full of slavery. Didnt Paul want to focus on the dignity of life? Rome was a city full of immorality. Didnt he want to focus on the proper use of Gods gift in sex? Rome was a city of economic prejudice. Didnt Paul want to focus on the right use of means? Rome was a city of war. Didnt Paul want to focus on the right use of might and just war? Rome was a city with all kinds of sin and social grievances. So didnt Paul want to preach a gospel that was applicable to social realities? No. The first thing he says here, I am not ashamed of the gospel. I find this really encouraging. I think the Roman Christians are very much like you and I. They lived in a time when Rome was advanced and advancing. The tide of culture was always seemingly coming in, strongly pushing an agenda out to every citizen to get in line with where were headed or be tossed to the lions in the Colosseum. In contrast to the power and the might and the opinion that Rome had of itself, nothing would have looked more foolish than a new up-and-coming religion that had at its centerpiece a crucified Savior. Yet, Paul says, Im not ashamed of the gospel. Held in this statement is his honest confession. Hes tempted with being ashamed of the gospel. I think the Roman context is very similar to our modern-day context. This is a note from 2017, but it still rings true today, every year the prestigious University, Oxford University, holds something thats called the Freshers Fair. This is where new incoming freshmen can see all the student activities and the student organizations that will be open to them on campus and their life there as a student. But in 2017 something new happened in Oxford University. They banned every Christian group from setting up a table at the fair and they said this in doing so. We recognize the wonderful advantages in having Christian representatives at the Freshers Fair, but we are concerned that there is potential for harm to incoming freshmen who are already struggling to feel welcome here at Oxford. Christianitys influence on many marginalized communities has been damaging in its methods of conversion and rules of practice, and it is still used in many places in the world today as an excuse for homophobia and certain forms of neo-colonialism. This is not fake news. Thats a real quote. It feels very first century Roman. Can you imagine incoming freshmen at Oxford hearing that, recognizing theres going to be no Christian organizations at this Freshers Fair, and being tempted to be ashamed of the gospel? This is something of Pauls heart here in verse 16. As the Romans were then, so are we now. Tempted to be ashamed of the gospel because the tide of the culture pushes against us. But again, in the face of this, Paul said he is unashamed. And so for his faith, Paul would be imprisoned, chased out of town, laughed at, regarded as a fool, stoned. In the face of all this, he boldly declared to the Romans that he would not bow the knee to Romes agenda, that his deepest allegiance lies to the Lord no matter if it puts him at odds with the Romans that think they know the most important things in the world. He knows the Romans need Christ, and so hes not ashamed of the gospel. This is one reason why Paul is so eager to preach the gospel to those in Rome, because hes not ashamed of it. Now all thats just kind of introduction. I remember were talking about Sola Fide. Look at where the verse goes in the rest of verse 16. This is our second question. Our first one was, why is Paul eager to preach in Rome? Second, why is Paul unashamed of the gospel? The rest of verse 16 gives the answer. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why? For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? Because the gospel is power. The gospel is power. The word power in Greek is the word dunamis. Do you hear any other words in the word dunamis? What do you hear? Dynamite? What else? Sorry? Do? Okay. Do it. Just do it. Dynamites the main one, but we also get dynamic. Dynamic. These words come from this old ancient Greek word dunamis. It means that the gospel itself is power to actually do something. The gospel is not just a story, not a set of rules, not a philosophical system. Its power. And its not just vague power. Its a specific kind of power. The very power of God. We cant miss this. In the gospel, there is a power that lifts man out of and above the temptations of cowardice, shame, and fear. The very content of the gospel message itself creates a peaceful boldness, a power in us, wherever we find ourselves to be. But what does this power do? Right? Power is employed for something, for a purpose. In verse 16, what is What does the power do? The gospel is the power of God for salvation. The gospels power is a power that saves sinners. Its a power that rescues, redeems, and transforms the soul. Who is this gospel power intended to save? Not all people. Not those who are born into certain families. Not those who live in certain countries. Not those who have certain skin color or are of a certain class in society. Not even those who try to work their hardest to earn salvation. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Everyone who believes to the Jew first and to the Greek. To the biblical mindset, there are many ways to answer this question, but there are two kinds of people. Theres the Jew and the Greek. Theres the old covenant people of God, the Jews, the nation of Israel, new covenant, out to the nations. Thats what the word Greek is intended there. The nations, the ethnos. What comes forth in a strong clarity is this word believe right here in verse 16. The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is faith. This is the centrality of faith. So faith therefore, what is faith? It doesnt just know the right things, though there are right things to know. Faith doesnt just agree that those right things are right and true, even though we agree that those right things are right and true. Faith is not a sort of naming or claiming something for ourselves, no. True faith is more than just knowledge, more than just agreement with that knowledge. Its a laying hold of that knowledge and banking our salvation on it. Its a trust. Its a clinging to this knowledge. True faith lays hold of the power of God in the gospel and clings to Christ as He stands forth in the gospel. This is a whole souled confidence in the God who not only makes commands and demands of us, but the God who also approves and provides all that is needed for our salvation in His Son, the Lord Jesus. So in this we see so much. We see two massive things coming out. The power of God breaking into the plight of man. This is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. This is why hes eager to encourage the Romans to not be ashamed of the gospel. And this is why I dont want any of you to be ashamed of the gospel either. No one need blush at being the recipient of such power in the gospel of God received and rested in by faith alone. Paul proclaimed Christ in Corinth, the self-proclaimed wisest city in the ancient world. He proclaimed Christ to be the very wisdom of God. How ironic then in the self-proclaimed city of the mightiest city in the ancient world in Rome, to them, Paul says, Christ is the power of God for salvation. The gospel is the power of God. This leads to our last question. We looked at verse 16 with two questions, now one question for verse 17. Why is the gospel the power of God for salvation? Look at verse 17. For in it, for in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. So the gospel is the power of God for salvation because in the gospel a righteousness is revealed. What kind of righteousness is this in verse 17? Is it the attribute of Gods righteousness in view that He always does what is right and that He Himself is the standard of all rightness in the world and that Hes always faithful to His promises? No. Could it be our own righteousness in view that we are Have we ourselves, by our works and merit, earned a righteousness that puts us in right standing with God? No. Then what is it? What is this righteousness in view? Its none other than the righteousness that God requires of us, demands of us, but freely gives to us in the gospel of Christ. It begs the question, though, how is this righteousness given to us? And this is what verse 17 answers, Paul says it, from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. Here Paul, to make his point, he reaches back to the minor prophet, hed probably not be appreciative of that title, but Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4. In that context, the prophet Habakkuk is calling Gods people to have faith in God in the face of impending exile brought on by the Babylonians. In faith, in face of such wrath and judgment thats coming on to them, the prophet Habakkuk says, have faith, live by faith. Paul uses these words and applies it to his own purposes in his letter to the Romans to call Gods people to a kind of posture toward the Lord, a posture of faith. So just as Israel of old would have had to live by faith back then, so too we must live by faith now. Just as the wrath of the Babylonians was almost upon them then, look what comes in the rest of chapter 1 right after this verse. The wrath of God coming on to sinners. What must we do in the face of such wrath against sin? Live by faith in Christ revealed in the gospel. And so yes, we want to say the great exchange is great and glorious. God for our sake made Christ to be sin who knew no sin that we in Christ might become the righteousness of God, 2 Corinthians 5, 21. So the blood of Jesus washes our sin away finally and forever, but were not just washed white as snow and the slate cleaned. It is filled back up with the righteousness of Christ, His own righteousness. As Jesus gets our sin and bore the curse that we deserve, we get His righteousness and get the approval that He earned, not that we earned. So the gospel is the power of God for salvation because in the gospel, Christs righteousness is not only revealed, its received by faith alone. From faith for faith, the righteous shall live by faith. This is sola fide or justification by faith alone, the great doctrine that was recovered one of in the Reformation time. As Ive tried to do in each of these studies, I want to do here again this evening with you and conclude with a story of Luthers. Specifically this one, Luthers conversion story. Its a wonderful story that we can learn a lot from that has everything to do with Romans 1, 16 and 17. Many of the answers to really pivotal and common questions about the nature of salvation are all put on display in Luthers conversion story. So let me get into it. Luther knew the Catholic doctrines well. That the way one would be saved and come into a right standing with God is a combination through Gods grace and mans work. This is what the Catholic church taught. This is what they still teach today. As a young monk, Luther was acutely aware of his many sins. Try and try as he may, he never felt that he was good enough because Gods law demanded perfection and he could not meet such demands. So he would spend hours in the confessional booth and one time he spent six hours confessing sins. I mean, if you just pause right there and think, I mean, has any modern Christian even spent six hours in their life confessing sin? Theres something here we need to learn. Even though Luther is in agony and in despair, theres something healthy about his confession. He spent six hours confessing sins, but that occasion ended in more despair because he realized as he exited the booth that there might be sins hes committed that hes not aware of, and so he panicked and he thought this to himself, quote, sins to be forgiven must be confessed. To be confessed, these sins must be recognized and remembered. If these sins are not recognized and remembered, they cannot be confessed. If these sins are then not confessed, they cannot be forgiven. This caused a panic in Luther as he exited the confession booth and his mentor just happened to walk by at the right time, saw him. His name was Johann Staupitz. He noticed this and he told Luther to see God as love by looking to Christ. Luther responded with this quote, God out of mere delight hardens men and damns them to eternity. Is this who is said to be full of such mercy and goodness? This is cruel. This is intolerable. You want me to love God? I hate God. His mentor responded by just walking away. You dont reason with Luther when hes in such a temper. He probably knew this, but he then did the unthinkable. He promoted Martin Luther to the position of professor in the Wittenberg University there, and Luther would begin his doctoral studies. He was tasked as he began all this with teaching through the Psalms and teaching through Pauls letter to the Romans. This is when the great moment came. In studying Romans chapter one, he got to verse 16 and 17, and this was his conversion moment. Many people describe this. Ill just give it to you from the authorized biography, Roland Bainton, Here I Stand. This is how he describes this moment. In Luthers own words, I longed, I greatly longed to understand Pauls letter to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but this one expression, the righteousness of God. In Romans 1, 17. I took this to mean that the righteousness of God in punishing the wicked, and my situation was just that. I was an impeccable monk, but I stood before God as a sinner, troubled, having no confidence in my own works. Therefore, I did not love this just God and this angry God. I hated him and I murmured against him, yet I clung to the apostle Paul, longing to know what he meant. Night and day, I pondered until I saw the connection between the righteousness of God and the phrase, the righteous shall live by faith. Then I grasped that the righteousness of God is the righteousness by which through grace and mercy, God justifies the wicked by faith. It is then that I felt myself reborn and have gone through open doors into paradise. So for Luther, he learned and discovered for the first time in his life the place of works in the Christian life. He knew that works didnt save, but they show how one has been saved. He knew that works arent the foundation of our salvation, but theyre the necessary consequence of it. He knew that were not saved by good works, but he knew that we are saved unto good works. And so for Luther and for the rest of the Reformers, the faith that saves is faith alone, sola fide, but they all confessed faith is never alone. The faith that saves is faith alone, but faith is never alone, for true faith produces works. Fast forward to today. I think we affirm this mentally, and maybe even outwardly, we sing songs about this, but internally and practically, we live as if we didnt believe it. We live as if were a frog that has just fallen into a jar of milk. Follow me. Thats weird, I know. But after realizing that this frog cannot jump out of the jar, it does the only thing that it can do. It paddles and paddles and paddles and paddles until slowly but surely, the milk is churned into butter and we get out of the jar. We say that amazing grace is one of our favorite hymns, but deep down, I think many of us just believe that if we do our best, well get to heaven one day, and nothing could be farther from the truth. We need to return to repent to Scripture again to see that our works on their best day are still filthy rags before a holy God. Our works are not enough to make us right with God. We cannot do enough, so we ought to despair of our own efforts. But through despairing, we should not lose hope because of Christ. His work is always enough for us. So we have faith in Him, not ourselves. This is how were saved. Faith alone saves. We trust in Christ, not ourselves. So when Pauls later writing to the Corinthians, he says, what we proclaim to you is not ourselves, but Christ. Because in Him, we have faith, and this church is our confidence. Not in our own works, but in Christ. We have faith in Christ. May we always boast in sola fide, faith alone, because its through faith, the means by which the sinner grab holds of the power of the gospel, of Christ Himself, and finds salvation upon belief. This is sola fide. Can you imagine how loud this would have hit, how loud this would have been heard in a context where, late medieval age, all you did was work hard to be saved by God in the end? And then here comes Luther and says, the one who despairs of your own works, but trusts in the work of Christ, that one is saved, though they never lift a finger. This is why Luther was, there was a bounty put on his head. It was incendiary in that context. And maybe weve just heard it enough, weve lost the incendiary nature of this. It explodes good works, but ironically shows us what good works are all about, because the faith that saves is faith alone, but faith is never alone. It produces all manner of works that are pleasing to God. May we grab hold of the great gospel power of God by faith. Amen. Thoughts, questions, challenges, concerns, all of the above.

Sola Gratia - Transcript And we are going to be in Ephesians chapter 2 have your Bibles go ahead and open up Ephesians chapter 2 looking specifically at it from the context of sola gratia grace Alone, there's a lot of passages you could go to to talk about grace alone But this is one of the foremost and so we're just going to spend time in this Enjoying what we see but tonight we're continuing on in our series of the five solas Looking at the five big themes of the Reformation seeking to find out why they still Matter or in other words trying to answer the question. Are we as Protestants? Still protesting and the answer is yes. The answer is yes. We are still Protesting a resounding Yes, there is a danger in idolizing the past, but there's a greater danger in forgetting the past Altogether and so we look back to learn ancient timeless principles Applied to our own time and hearts today again the five solas. We are looking at sola scriptura scripture alone sola gratia Grace alone sola fide faith alone solus Christus Christ alone and soli deo gloria to the glory of God alone. Those are the big five We will add to it semper refer manda always Reforming that's also a principle that comes out of the Reformation But tonight as I said is the second of these sola gratia Showcased for us in the first eight verses of Ephesians 2 Wonderful text to lean on let me read it and I'll tell you how I'm gonna break it down then we'll get there Ephesians 2 1 to 8 and You were dead and it trespasses in sins in which you once walked Following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air The spirit that is now at work in the sons of Disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind but God Being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us Even when we were dead in our trespasses Made us alive together with Christ by grace You have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing It is the gift of God Two points here verse 1 to 3 we see the hopelessness without Christ and In verse 4 to 8 we see hopefulness with Christ First the hopelessness without Christ as Paul begins Ephesians chapter 2 he makes a resounding statement about the hopelessness. That is our natural Condition he says and you were dead in your trespasses and sins this is Absolute Every man and every woman born into this world is not born in danger of death But born into spiritual death Paul goes on to describe what kind of life this death Produces so in our spiritual death. We live generally life following the course of this World what world the world ruled by Satan or the prince of the power of the air? So by following the course of his world We're really following him and by following him this makes us sons and daughters of Disobedience, what do sons of disobedience do they live in the passions of the flesh? They carry out the desires of the body and they give room for the immoral desires of the mind to grow what's the conclusion of Paul for this sinful living verse 3 we are by nature Children of wrath This is not Paul. Just discussing or describing some drugged out segment of society or the populations that fill prisons. All mankind is in view here. You, me, everybody is in view. Every person we've ever met, every day throughout our entire life. Accordingly, there are only two kinds of people in the world according to Paul, according to the Bible. This is not bad guys and good guys. The scriptures show us there are bad guys and Jesus. That's the view of the Bible. This means that we are naturally not prone to or naturally given to improvement, but deprovement. We devolve lower and lower and lower into wickedness unless interrupted, but we'll get there. People often come to me wanting to talk about their struggles and they say something like, pastor, I have fallen into sin. It's a great place to begin. It's a great place to begin a conversation, to explore what's going on in the life of somebody in someone's struggle, but it's not exactly accurate. And it's helpful to point that out at some time in a conversation when someone comes to you with this type of verbiage. It's not exactly accurate. And this text points it out. Nobody falls into sin. We jump. We sin because we want to. We do not sin because someone hurt us or someone sinned against us. We sin because we love sin. The sooner that we embrace that and understand that and see our sin as a battle over what we love and our misguided affections, the sooner we can be on the mend from such struggles. The question, after looking at these first three verses, is very clear, very simple, and very profound. It's do you believe this? Do you agree with Paul in his assessment of all mankind? Or do you think more highly of yourself than Paul? Many people would read this and they say, wait a minute, everybody I know from babies to toddlers to children to teenagers to young men and women to middle-aged to the retired, they all seem to be bubbling with imagination and stories and life and vibrancy. They all seem to think deeply and burst with creativity and are fully alive in many ways. Sure, according to worldly standards, they might be, but according to biblical standards, they are spiritually dead apart from Christ. Everybody on the planet might be alive and thriving according to the standards of culture, but according to eternal standards, according to biblical standards, we are born spiritually six feet under. And so, this is the verdict, all mankind, we are born blind to true beauty, dead to true delight, rebellious to true redemption, cold to true clarity, frozen to true feeling, and numb to true knowing. Throughout history, many have engaged with this view. Three views of man and our fallen condition have generally been taught. Pelagius, early on near Augustine's lifetime, would put forward that man is fine and well on his own. He does not need God in order to arrive at a right relationship with God. He's not as fallen as Augustine says. He's not as bad as many say Paul says he is. He is actually righteous and can on his own work back to God. This is humanism. Later on, we have... That's Pelagius. Later on, we have this halfway view, semi-Pelagian view, where man is believed to be sick and in need of medicine to aid our natural abilities or natural effort in order to come back to Christ. We just need a little help. We need a little help. So Pelagius, Pelagian view, man is fine and on his own can return to God, semi-Pelagian, man needs a little bit of help from God to get back to God, then we have Augustinianism or the biblical view, I'd say Paul's point of view, man is dead. sin and the only thing required, needed for man to come back to God is resurrection. That's what we need. So we are, bottom line, hopeless without Christ. Now I've not forgotten that we're talking about sola gratia tonight, not total depravity. This is in view. So why go into all this understanding about the true nature of our sin? Well, through sailing the seas of man's corruption, we come to far greater waters, the ocean of God's grace. It is vaster, it is deeper, it is wider, and it is without shore. It's beautiful. So let's move on, verse four to eight, a hopefulness with Christ. Paul transitions here out of our natural helplessness and hopelessness without Christ to our hopefulness with Christ by beginning with two of the most promising words in Scripture. Many have said this, rightly so, it's a wonderful moment in verse four, but God. These two words represent a new beginning, a break from our sinful past, a miraculous act of a sovereign, gracious God. Our sin is such that we know that there is no human means of accomplishing our own redemption, accomplishing our own resurrection. We cannot do enough. We are not enough. If any man is to be saved, God must intervene. And these two words tell us that He has done just that, that He has done just that. His intervention into the mess of mankind, His breaking into our brokenness is of His grace. It is all by grace. All throughout the Old Testament, we see this. So by the time we get to Ephesians 2.4, this should not be surprising. It's been happening all along in the Old Testament. Long ago, God was gracious to an undeserving first couple when they first fell by clothing their shame and nakedness with bloody animal skins. He then called and covenanted with Abraham. He redeemed Israel out of bondage. He gave them the law to reorder their life. He instituted the sacrificial system. He met with them in the tabernacle. He fed them in the wilderness. He spoke to them through the prophets. All of this was grace. All of this was undeserved. More so, we should say all of it was unmerited. And I think we can go further. All the grace of God to man is not only undeserved and unmerited, it's demerited. We have actively done much to not deserve it, to rid ourselves of the benefit of grace, and yet God gave it anyway. It is demerited favor. Grace is. He was gracious to His Old Testament, Old Covenant people again and again and again until one day the fullness of time had come and God came Himself one more time intervening in the incarnation when Christ Himself broke into our world. The author of the play walked on stage. So God's grace then, how do we define it? Is not some kind of divine benevolence that's vague and undefined toward all mankind. It's not some large smiley divine being who's always cheery. God's grace is more than His demerited favor. Ultimately, God's grace is a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. This is the grace of God. Look how Paul describes this in the text. Being rich in mercy. Why? Because of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses. What did God do? He made us alive together with Christ. Back in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 15 to 20, Paul prays for the Ephesians and this church. He pleads with God in verse 19 and 20 of that chapter that they would know, quote, the immeasurable greatness of God's power toward those who believe according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. So you see the connection between Paul's prayer and then Paul's teaching. The prayer in chapter 1 and his teaching here in chapter 2. Paul prays that they would know God's great power toward those who believe, power that God mightily displayed through raising Christ from the dead. Then in chapter 2 verse 5, we find that we come to know great resurrection power, not only in beholding Christ's resurrection, but by experiencing our own resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life when we believe and trust in Christ. And so God did this, how? Through his immeasurable great might. So Paul's own prayer for this church in chapter 1 verse 19 and 20 is seemingly answered in chapter 2 verse 5 or described in chapter 2 verse 5 when it describes the conversion experience of faith and trusting in Christ. And just in case we don't get it, Paul inserts a little note after verse 5, by grace you have been saved. This little comment lets us know that our salvation, this resurrecting redemption is all of grace. Then in verse 6 he shows us that on that a resurrection from death to life through God's grace in the gospel takes us where Christ's resurrection took him. After Christ made satisfaction for sins and rose from the grave, he ascended on high and he took a seat at the father's right hand to rule and reign over all things. When God's grace intervenes then in our dead hearts and he raises us to new life, he unites us to Christ. So much so that where Christ is now, we spiritually go also. Where Christ is now, we spiritually are there also. So just as we were once physically alive but spiritually dead apart from Christ, so to now we're physically present here on earth, but once we believe we are spiritually present with Christ in heaven. It's just a bonkers thought to think about that this actually what's going on. This means our new life in Christ is and must be new, entirely new, different, vastly different than our life before Christ. Back in verse 2 and 3, Paul described our sinful life in the past tense. Did you notice that? Tense he used, in which you once walked among whom you once lived. So just as God broke into our fallen world and intervened in his grace through his son, so to once we are saved by that grace, our lives now must make a new break as well. As you once walked, as you once lived, means you no longer walk and you no longer live. That kind of life, a break away from the old and an opening up toward the new, specifically to use a language of verse 5 and 6. Our lives must break away from a life of sin and death and move toward a life of resurrection and the power of Christ and his resurrection. What is the source of such life in the gospel power? The grace of God. That's the source. It's all of grace. In verse 7, Paul goes further. To give all this glorious gospel grace a unified purpose. Verse 7 then says, so that in the coming ages, God might show, display the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So this is something of a purpose statement on why God gave such grace. He did this to display his grace of Christ to the entire world. That's what verse 7 says. The ultimate purpose of giving children of wrath his grace is to megaphone the marvelous nature of his grace to the whole world from the beginning to the end of the ages. Lastly, in verse 8, Paul gives a... wonderful summary of all this stuff he's mentioned so far in chapter two for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God it cannot get any clearer you have to do so many mental and soulful gymnastics to get away and to insert works anywhere in here to say it's not all of grace is to reject scripture salvation comes by grace through faith this is not our own doing it is the gift of God just as a lion will choose to eat meat over wheat because of its nature so to a sinner will choose sin over righteousness because of their nature in order for a lion and the sinner to desire something and choose something that's naturally alien to their inclinations what has to happen an inner transformation has to happen and nature has to change a lion cannot do this a sinner cannot do this we can amend ourselves certainly to look nicer to be kinder to be cleaner and to be neater but we cannot resurrect a dead heart from the grave to life there has to be someone greater than us outside of us to act upon us to bring us to where we cannot bring ourselves that is only the Lord and his grace so if we're to be saved God must come God must come and enter in by grace so our helplessness without Christ is really great our hopefulness with Christ is far greater this is the message of the gospel this is the gospel sola gratia was recovered in the Reformation and made much of because the gospel had been hidden under all this religious junk for ages and ages and ages that we are more sinful than we can ever imagine but in Christ Christ becoming like us living like us dying for us rising for us ascending for us ruling over us to return for us in Christ God loves us more than we could ever dare hope it's in this gospel the gospel that calls us to remember how holy God is how unholy we are how pure Christ is how he bore our impurities defeated death for us and how we are now being called by God to repent and believe in Christ it's this gospel that we see the grace of God this is the grace of God so let's return to where we began today I found a quote earlier that was just wonderful there it is our original question was why does sola gratia matter so much in the Reformation to illustrate this let me take you to Luther's life the end of it actually he lived to be 62 62 years old let me paint the picture 29 years had passed since he nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg Germany being 62 old 62 years old and weary now from his life's work Luther was asked by another gospel preacher to come be a mediator in a family dispute in his hometown of Isleaben Germany through Luther's efforts the dispute was actually resolved but he fell ill in the process and he sensed that his end was near and so he wrote his last will and testament during this time his friend got wind of this named Justice Jonas and he came to his side and he asked Luther do you want to die standing on Christ and the doctrine that you have taught us and Luther shouted from his bed yes very Luther like right and then as he's his friend heard the gospel again and again and again and read passages like Ephesians to Luther responded with these words these are his last words and then he died we are beggars, this is true." Interesting last words, right? Does that surprise you, his last words of all the things that this famous theologian who shook the world in his own time could have said? It doesn't seem very hopeful on the surface of things, does it? This is beggars, we are true. It does seem a little melancholy that he mentions his own sinful condition as his last words. I mean, this is Luther writing volumes and volumes and volumes on grace, but I don't think they're strange. I'm rather strangely encouraged by such words. I think Luther knew what we need to remember. After laboring and sweating and agonizing and grinding his soul to the uttermost ends of his abilities and capacities in trying to reach God through monkery, his own words, he realized something that changed his life. He was not enough. He was a fallen man. He was truly helpless and was truly hopeless before God in his own works. This did not leave him despairing though, for at the time he came upon those first words from Romans chapter one, and he said, it was as if I entered the door through paradise when he read in Paul's letter to the Romans, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live not by works or by penance, but by faith. In this Luther, he came to the end of himself and he found the beginning of life in Christ. And he learned that works really do save you, but not his. The works of Christ are more than enough to save sinners like us. Christ's work and Christ's work alone give us the grace of God. So when it came time for the reformer to die, he did not deny, he did not twist and did not run away from his own fallen nature, but affirmed, we are beggars, this is true. In affirming such a statement, he affirmed not just our helplessness without Christ, but our great hope in the grace of Christ. It's kind of a Luther-like way of saying, by grace you have been saved, this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. And so, the question that falls to us, how do I, a sinner, become right with a holy God? If our answer is anything other than what God has done, we're wrong and we're bankrupt. If our answer is anything about us, then we are bankrupt. But if our answer is the grace of God alone, there is much to hope for. Grace is not merely necessary, it is the sole cause of our salvation. And further, it is the sole reason for anything good, true, and beautiful in the life of a sinner. As Spurgeon would say, it is all of grace. The quote I wanted to tell you, why does grace matter in the years of the Reformation? Sola gratia resounded so much in the 16th century because it reminded everybody that humanity is not reaching up to God, but grace is God reaching down to us. Amen. Questions, thoughts, challenges, debate?

And so, today we continue in our new series on the solas. So kicking it off with sola scriptura is what is before us tonight. Again, Pastor Adam opened us last week with a bit of a history of the Middle Ages, a bit looking at the ecclesiological side of some of the mess with the papacy and kind of the breakdown of the church, which is what led to the Reformation. And so, today Im given the opportunity to begin with sola scriptura, for it is from scripture that we begin to unpack a lot of what the Reformation meant and also the foundation for the rest of the solas. Where do we derive these teachings from? Where do we derive faith alone from, grace alone from, Christ alone from? You must have a source from which to derive these teachings, and so that is the scriptures. And so, as we unpack this, I want to begin with a brief history, why scripture is so important to us. And again, its a theme that echoes throughout history, is this reliance on the scriptures to teach and inform the faith. But for a long period of time, the issue arose is that there was a degree to which scripture got lost in the fact of the illiteracy of the age. So again, it wasnt a very literate culture, and so with that, you saw the rise of art and icons throughout church history, begin to see churches become painted with scenes from scripture so that people could understand the general idea through art. Again, it took on its own reverence, and as all things do, what began as purposeful began, becomes sacrilegious in many ways, as scripture got lost to traditions. So the scriptures themselves began to be sacrificed for tradition, as the church itself transformed over time. Also along the way is we have the standardization of one translation that becomes primary. So again, we have the translation of the Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin in the late 4th, early 5th centuries by Jerome, Jerome of Jerusalem becomes a very important figure. Again, Jerome is not a bad figure, everyone gives him a bad rap just because of the Vulgate. Hes actually a very important church father who was very knowledgeable about the scriptures and was passionate about the scriptures. In many ways, Jerome is the John Wycliffe or the John Huss of his day, translating the Bible into his peoples language. So he wanted the Romans to be able to read the Bible in Latin because they spoke Latin. So again, now how thats abused over many, many years may be very similar to how some KJVers treat the current scriptures, as if they themselves are the only inspired word of God, because the KJV is Gods only true word, and if it was good enough for Jesus, its good enough for me. So if youve met those KJVers, they do exist, its weird. But thats the idea. So the scriptures were translated into Latin for the good of the people, and again, over time it is abused and becomes the only true divine language. And so part of what Adam unpacked a little bit for last week was some of the history, and we talked about the destruction of Constantinople. Now whats important is Constantinoples destruction is one of the greatest tragedies and one of the greatest victories for the church. So its a tragedy because again, this great Christian beacon of life to what ultimately was the East is destroyed, but in so doing, all of the Greek texts, because again, so Latin, we dont care about the Greek, thats unnecessary. Those darn Easterners can keep their silly Greek texts. We have the Latin, the true word of God. But with the destruction of Constantinople, all the Greek texts, all the Greek fathers, all of that entire history is packed up and shipped West. The Vatican will happily take it all at that point. So lots of churches in the West start to get Greek manuscripts, start to read the text for the first time in these different Greek originals, which begins to transform their understanding. So theyre no longer just reading the interpretation. So theyre not just reading the Latin Vulgate, but theyre reading what did the early church believe and what are the Greek original as close to original manuscripts actually said. That began to transform the world as they see what does scripture truly teach and does scripture, okay, does tradition align with scripture? And again, thats one of the things that you have the 95 thesis, this giant list that we have that starts the reformation is ultimately a list of how the churchs traditions have deviated from the scriptures as Luther poured over the scriptures to see how they aligned with the churchs traditions and then saw that the traditions had become distorted. And so this becomes the beginning of this transformation that leads us to the reality that we see today, the importance of scripture. So again, that unpacks a little bit of the history. Well work through some of the modern applications of that a little bit later in a few weeks when we get to the end of our series, but I wanted to set that foundation. So kind of highlighting some of the important history behind Solar Scripture before we turn to the Word today and just unpack Scriptures pointed discussion on the Scriptures and why the Scriptures are so important to us and what we get from the study of Gods Word. So of course, does anyone want to guess what text we are going to go to? There we go. Is there another text besides 2nd? There are lots of other texts. I will highlight some of them, but we want a concise one, very to the point. It is 2nd Timothy 3, 16 and 17. That is the text before us tonight as we are encouraged in this discussion on the Scriptures and the reality of the Scriptures importance to us as a church and as individuals. So the Scriptures as foundational. So again, as you turn to 2nd Timothy, this is Pauls second letter written to Timothy encouraging him. This is believed to be the last letter of Paul. This is Pauls last hurrah, encouraging Timothy to live out the faith well and to fulfill his mission, to do the ministry hes been called to. Pauls time is done. Hes been poured out as a drink offering. Hes finished. Peace out, Timothy. Keep going. Okay? And so in this final letter, he gives Timothy a series of different encouragements on living out the faith, on preaching the gospel, and so he reminds him time and time again of living out the faith well, and part of it is this reminder of the importance of the Word of God, to proclaim the Word. And in 3, chapter 3, 16 and 17, all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. And so what Paul here is encouraging Timothy, and in so doing, encouraging the church throughout every generation, is the importance of the Scriptures for shaping us individually and corporately. And so the first part that he encourages and reminds him is the fact that all Scripture is breathed out by God. Its foundational for our understanding that these are not the whims of man. Scriptures arent just randomly written down based on how men felt like talking about God. Paul is encouraging him to remember that these are the words of God to his people. The Torah, the first five books, the Pentateuch, if you will, in a Greek setting, first five books breathed out by God to instruct the people of Israel who their God is, who saved them out of Egypt, telling their entire history, telling the history from Genesis, their creation, all the way through to the proclamation that they are about to enter the promised land, the death of Moses and the institution of Joshua. That tells their foundational story, the law. Its also why its called the law, the Torah, the first five Pentateuch. That is the first five. These all are breathed out by God. Moses didnt just sit down like, well, what should I include about the Red Sea? We walked through it. We sang a song. It was a good song. Miriam danced. That was weird, but Im going to write it in there. Theres a reality that these were things that God inspired and breathed out for them to be written. The Holy Spirit carried them along. They wrote them accordingly. Then we see that again, go throughout the whole of the Old Testament, the reminders of the prophets, the different things that they were prophesying, both to the people and to the future. These are all things that God was teaching and leading them to write. We see this in 2 Peter, knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someones own interpretation. They werent just making it up as they went along. Again, the gospel writers arent just making it up. Theyre firsthand accounts or connected to them. Of course, we have Matthew, who is an apostle. Matthew, the tax collector, also known as Levi, was with Christ. Then we have Mark. Does anyone know who Marks gospel is from? Peter. Again, he gives us Peters firsthand account because Mark is Peters second in Rome. He ends up in Rome with Peter, becomes his second in command. Luke travels with the apostles. He becomes their historian, if you will, thus giving us also the book of Acts. As the Spirit leads them, of course, John is John, the beloved, the one who ran faster than Peter, in case you need to know all those details. There is a little bit of character also in it. Its not just a robot writing. There are some personality quirks in there as well. They dont just robot Holy Spirit work. It is the influence of the Holy Spirit that leads them to write, inspires their writing. a little bit of personality in their writings as well, so as God uses them. And so each of these things, they are being reminded of, Paul is reminding Timothy, us also reminding us, of the impact and necessity are reminded that these things are written by God. And its not just that theyre written by God, but theyre written by God for a purpose. They are profitable. They are of good value. Okay, so these things are not of no value. But let me go back a second. Sorry, I skipped a whole portion. Its an important part. The meaning of the inspired work. So we use the word breathed out, also inspired. Inspired is the fancy term. Okay, thats inspired by God, and it has five historic uses. So historically, we talk about the inspiration of scripture in this way in five distinct ways. First, therefore, it is inerrant. If it is breathed out by God, it is inerrant. You might have heard about this. Again, well deal with the whole inerrancy controversy when I do Semper Reformanda in five weeks. But for now, just the basic idea that it is without error. The Holy Spirit leads them, so they write. If it is written by God and by the Holy Spirit, it is therefore without error in its original writings and intent. Also, if it is the inspired word of God, then it is authoritative. So it has authority. So with it carries the weight of Gods word. So it should be taken with a seriousness for it is the word of God. It is clear. So its not meant to be confusing. Its not meant to be some weird Gnostic text that only a few can understand. It is clear in what it teaches. It is necessary. We need it. We need the word of God to know God. And it is sufficient. It is all we need. We dont need to add to it. We dont need to take away from it. It is sufficient for us. And so, as we see, it is profitable. It is of good use for these things. It is for teaching. It is for reproof. It is for correction, and it is for training in righteousness. So it teaches us. It teaches us who God is. It teaches us who we are. It teaches us what God has done. It teaches us how we should live. It reproves us. It tells us where we have gone wrong. It corrects us. It shows us how to get back on the right path. And it trains us in righteousness. It trains us how to live a life that is pleasing to God. So its not just about knowing, its about doing. Its not just about head knowledge, but its about a heart transformation that leads to a life transformation. Its not just about knowing more, its about knowing God more. And in knowing him, we then live it out. We live out the good work it has instructed us in. So that, my friends, is Sola Scriptura today. So that is what we have. So any questions, comments, charges of heresy?

The Ecclesiopolitical Trajectory of the Late Medieval Age: A Precursor to the Reformation I'm going to do something that is absolutely riveting: I'm going to read a long paper for you, part of it. This is 30% of chapter three, what I'm reading you tonight. So, I'm going to be going fast. Please write down any questions you have; we'll save them for after. Without further ado, tonight we are looking back at history. Why look back? Simply put, history has an abundance of riches to teach all who are willing to look at them. One could possibly dispute this claim by asking what benefit there is to gain from examining an era of history referred to as the Dark Ages. This is a common question among the modern church. It is not to be, though, shrugged off too quickly by those of us who disagree and have come to appreciate the history and the traditions of the church. Even if this modern anti-historical posture is an overreaction that uses the popular phrase "Dark Ages," what is being reacted to should be examined and understood. By and large, when we think of this era of history leading up to the Reformation, the categories of mystery, corruption, disease, heresy, compromise, political power, war, and poverty are often the only categories popularly present concerning this era. Naturally, these things lead many to a dreadful view of the era. While well-intended, such a posture displays an attitude of superiority in which one believes their own time to be categorically above all others. One author responded to this, making the claim that using the label "dark"I'm talking about the dark era, dark agebetrays a deep-rooted ignorance by practically functioning not so much as a description but a disapproval of the era. Though one could argue like this, as many have, in asserting the Dark Ages to be a time immersed in gross superstition and barbarism, some recent arguments have been made against this view. These maintain that while there is some truth to the popular caricature, most of what is commonly believed about this era is not true. One such argument, published a few years ago, called Bullies and Saints, states the term "Dark Ages" itself was invented to be used as propaganda to help pave the way for the Renaissance to come. But of course, standing against these more recent arguments is another modern agenda that is bent toward affirmation and reparation. The truth of the matter most likely lies between these two extremes. Nevertheless, if we are to rightly understand the Reformation, we cannot ignore the cultural context out of which it arose. Why? Like all events in organized human society, the Reformation was embedded in the social reality of people's lives. This means the roots of the Reformation existed in seed form in the hearts and lives of men, women, and families during the late medieval age, long before they sprang through the ground and began growing. Therefore, these roots ought to be examined and understood. We are, after all, historical beings. The past establishes and forms much of our present condition. This is as true theologically and ecclesiastically as it is culturally and politically. Now, at this point, I would say there are really good arguments and things to be seen when we look at the cultural and theological landscape of the late medieval age. I'm thinking like 1200 to 1430-ish, right around there. That's what I'm calling the late medieval age. I think it starts about 800. That's the beginning of the medieval age to about 1200. But we do not have time tonight to do the cultural or theological landscape as fascinating as it is. So what I'm going to do for you is just explain the ecclesiastical landscape, the ecclesiological landscape, which just means we're going to talk about the church in the late medieval age. This helps us prepare for what the church would become in the Reformation. So let's turn to the ecclesiological landscape. Perhaps the ecclesiological landscape is more vital than any other landscape to see to understand this era of history because this is the stage on which all of culture and theology was lived out. For better or worse, this drove much of the life and society of this time. The fruit of all the ideas and practices carried out in the church, resulting in a variety of consequences felt by all, from peasants to popes alike. Perhaps, though, it's more accurate to not use the phrase ecclesiological landscape, but rather to use the phrase ecclesiopolitical landscape. Because in the late medieval age, church and state were so interwoven, it's nearly impossible to discuss one without the other. Now, there are ecclesiological patterns that emerge, like where could we begin to talk about this, right? There are patterns that emerge that help us see this era clearly and neatly and orderly with some structure. These matters, I think, are three: authority, clergy, and councils. Those threeauthority, clergy, and councilsif we look at each one in turn, helps us understand the ecclesiological landscape of the late medieval age. These are separate matters, surely, but they overlap greatly. As soon as we mention the medieval ecclesiastical authority of the pope, the priests come into view. As soon as the priests come into view, the clergy comes into view. And as soon as the clergy comes into view, church councils come into view. Overall, in these three matters, we will see a steady ecclesiastical decline, a steady ecclesiastical decline, and diminishing will be obvious, reinforcing not only our understanding of this age, but our awareness of why the Reformation was soon to break out. Matters of authority first. The question of authority has always been a pressing issue in the church. In the earliest days, the debate was centered on the witness and sufficiency of the New Testament writings, but as the first few centuries progressed, the debate began to be focused more and more on the apostles themselves and those they passed on their ministries to. One author states, "What is certain is that a hundred years after the ascension of Christ, his church was almost all being led by elected bishops and that congregations founded by the apostles had a special responsibility over all the other churches to preserve and defend their common legacy." This state remained until Constantine decreed the famous Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., legalizing religion in the empire. After this, Christianity went so public and so popular, there needed to be a council to clarify the witness of the church in light of the error of Arianism and other voices. After this council, though, one would presume that unity was arrived, but the errors condemned at the council continued to spread, which gave need for further councils in the years following. Thus, another imperially sanctioned council was summoned in Constantinople in the year 381 A.D., where two pivotal decisions were made that would prove very consequential for the future of authority in the church. First, the council chose to divide the known world into five regions. Second, the bishop, pastor, the bishop in the largest city in each of those five regions was given the label patriarch of that entire region. The five regions were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. And sailing would occur for a time once this pattern of authority was established with these five patriarchs over these five regions, until another imperially sanctioned council would arise in 451 A.D. at Chalcedon, where the majority of Eastern churches refused to heed the result of the council. Fast forward, due to the rise and spread of Islam by 700 A.D., only the regions of Rome and Constantinople remained. The other three had disappeared, and they began to contend for who is the most prominent. One author states that Rome believed that they deserved prominence because of their apostolicity as well as the historical claims of the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul. Constantinople, on the other hand, believed that they deserved to be the most prominent region in the church due to it being the home of the emperor and the location of numerous previous councils that have been held. Neither wanted to break off from the other until a skirmish prompted Rome to act. The Lombards attacked Italy and were nearing Rome, provoking the Bishop of Rome to ask the Franks for help. They not only helped, but they also defeated the Lombards and, quote, established the Roman Bishop as the ruler of Italy in the year 754. This is through what's called an edict called the Donation of Pepin. This was the official beginning in history known as the beginning of the Papal States. These territories ruled by the Roman Bishop would grow, increasing this Bishop's power, which also increased a contest for prominence with Constantinople. While it might be an overstatement to say this political arrangement opened the door for corruption to slowly enter in. As long as it can be effectively argued that man's true end is supernatural and that his home is a heavenly community, those that administer directly to that higher end and community were in a position to assert their superiority over those who merely tended man's temporal needs. Such was the attitude that the Bishop in Rome came to embrace. By this point, he had commonly accepted the title as Pope. The word Pope being a nickname for Papa or father of the church. This word was used to refer to the Roman Bishop from the early days until about 1,000 or 1,100 AD when it became the official title for the Bishop in Rome. This Pope presided over the coronations of emperors, which gave the impression that they became political rulers with this man's approval and affirmation. With this Bishop having the power over the Papal States mixed with visible power over the emperor and spiritual power over the church, corruption quickly ensued and spiritual diminishment quickly followed. Such that the Roman Bishop eventually became a, quote, "plaything of the Roman aristocracy." So while this ecclesiopolitical corruption declined, the patriarch in the West, the East continued to decline from the rise of Islam and the pressure that was put on Constantinople. The situation was deteriorating so badly in Rome, the cultural mood of the empire swung toward reform. Many desired it, but it was a group of monks in Cluny, France who first began a series of reform attempts in history. One author called these Cluny monks the first great contest between royal and papal power. These monks did the following: They believed that a new stronger Pope who would reassert Rome's authority over Constantinople was needed in order for Rome to be saved. So they campaigned to have their own Pope made Pope. In Leo IX, they got just that. But from Leo's reassertion of Roman power, the East, I think Constantinople, they became further disillusioned with Rome, ultimately leading to the schism of 1054 when both patriarchs, the one over Rome, the one over Constantinople, excommunicated the other from the church. This moment would eventually come to be recognized as the infamous schism when East and West separated permanently. That's the first thing the monks in Cluny did to establish reform. The second thing the monks did was use their sway with the ruler, Nicholas II, to establish something called the College of Cardinals. These would be solely responsible for electing the Pope. While this would have positive outcomes initially in the removal of aristocratic power, it did create a religious seat of power so strong in the papacy that a later Pope, Urban II, was able to wield that power to begin the Crusades. Power increased in the subsequent century to such a degree that in Rome, it was common to view the papacy as divinely instituted by God for protection of the church until the end of time. With the installation of the next Pope, Innocent III, the power of the papacy reached its climax. This is 1198 to 1216. This man, Innocent III, said this when he came into office: "You see then who is this servant set over this household? Truly I am the vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of Peter, anointed of the Lord, a God over Pharaoh, set between God and man, lower than God but higher than man. I judge all but am judged by no one." Trends like this would continue with the popes that they would elect, the College of Cardinals that is, until a certain attack on the church's claims arrived from a political philosopher named Marsilius of Padua. In his work, The Defender of the Peace, Marsilius' words would strike a blow. He wrote this work aiming to arrive at tranquility and peace and redemption for the civil sphere but concluded that Europe was by and large absent due to the clergy and the papacy, absent of peace that is. He stated the pope's, quote, "insatiable appetite for temporal things caused them to be discontented with the things which the rulers have granted them. These bishops have set themselves up as rulers and legislators in order to reduce kings and peoples to intolerable and disgraceful slavery to themselves. Consequently, they become insufferable to all the faithful." Marsilius also attacked the commonly held authority structure of the late medieval age, which believed in a divinely instituted hierarchy from God to pope to king to people. He would turn this on its head in his work, The Defender of Peace, and he taught a better model would flow from God to the people followed by two different spheres of society, one belonging to the citizens and their king and the other belonging to the faithful and their pope. Isn't that nuts that in the end of the 1200s we have the beginnings of what we would come to call one day the separation of church and state? In this new model, Marsilius showed that it would legitimately pave a way out of the abuses of authority that was so present in the papacy so far. Marsilius' writings caused such a sensation among the people that the papacy labored to suppress this work and would even later blame Marsilius and his work for causing the Reformation and spoiling what these popes have so long enjoyed. Historians, though, have wondered if and how Marsilius' work against the abuses of the popes impacted figures like Zwingli, Luther, Cromwell, Calvin, and later creeds and councils like the Peace of Augsburg. Yet one author strikes, I think, a needed balance with this when he comments, "Even if it did not directly influence them, Marsilius' teaching clearly anticipated and assisted major developments in the 16th century political thought that were very favorable to the Reformation." So that's authority in the late medieval age. Let's now turn to the impoverished clergy. As was the case with the rise and fall of papal authority, so is the case with the late medieval clergy. It possessed a beginning filled with virtue as the apostles passed on their ministry to godly men and those men passed it on to others. While there are patterns of decline and reform throughout the history of the church, ultimately as the centuries progressed, the clergy would succumb to an end filled with vice. The Fourth Lateran Council, think 1215 AD, there was a pronouncement called the "cure of souls," decreeing that clergy were to be, quote, "capable in knowledge and of fit morality to be appointed to churches." Following this decree, this is 1215 AD, there was a high stress placed on the morality, integrity, temperance, simplicity, and abstinence of priests. Yet due to the high volume of the number of churches arising as well as being built, the standards for clergy were slowly and surely relaxed to ensure that each local parish had a priest. These relaxing of standards was more easily seen, at least initially, in the popular culture of the day rather than in the established canons of the church. So while the church continued to present themselves as uprightly maintaining high and virtuous standards, the wider culture started to embrace and hold a diminishing view of the church and its clergy. Why? Because the abuses of the clergy were obvious. It would be hyperbole to state that the entirety of the clergy at this time in the church was corrupt; there were good priests, there were healthy parishes, healthy churches, but it would be dishonest to state that those healthy movements were the majority. They were by far the minority. Historian after historian, both Protestant and Catholic, described the clergy in this era to be miserable. Abuses abounded: widespread immorality, simony, absenteeism, corruption, and more created the common view that entering the cloister to be trained as a monk and a priest was a sign of weakness, a sign of significant social and maybe even physical handicap. One modern author says, "Although contemporary Catholic parents did not consider the cloister to be a danger to the souls of their children, they did tend to view it as a place for the weak or, in some way, failed child who needed special protection." Luther, when he entered into the Augustinian order at Erfurt in 1505, admitted that his own entrance into the cloister was a, quote, "act of weakness stemming from a nervous temperament brought about by the strictness of my parents." What a quote. The low view of clergy was not helped when, in response to the actual quality of the clergy, the Synod of Cologne in 1260 AD lowered the bar even further by decreeing that every priest should only be able to properly read the liturgy and sing the church service. And then the Synod of Oxford in 1281 demanded a cessation of all preaching, lest error be spread. Years before these synods, Peter Damiani concluded that the morals of the priests are similar to the darkest of the cities. Bernard of Clairvaux, a theologian during the late medieval age, would criticize priests for many things, including the following: The wearing of military dress, political performance, stating the priests had neither the courage nor the virtue of a soldier. This was not only limited to monasteries; it extended to convents as well. In some cases, convents were no better than brothels where nuns held exhibitions of dancing that the clergy would come to enjoy. It would be clich to put it this way, but the popular opinion was that churches were not overflowing with the worship of God, but were, quote, "filled with the rolling of dice, the drinking of wine, and the brewing of beer." One historian goes as far as to say the clerical standards in life were so low it was impossible for it to go any lower in any appearance of true religion to remain. In 1490, a man named Felix Faber of Ulm commented that, quote, "the well. One prominent one is Erasmus of Rotterdam, the famous Catholic theologian of the Reformation era, was highly critical of the priests in his day, who stated that the licentiousness of the clergy was legendary and exceedingly vast." Now, why is this the case? Surely we've talked about the slow and sure diminishing of standards that's been mentioned, but are there other reasons that we can give for accounting this decline? Yes, there are many, but let's just highlight two. First, the requirement of celibacy, and second, follow me here, this is a sentence, the aristocratic practice of acquiring ecclesiastical positions for sons regardless of moral or intellectual fitness. While the nepotism, that's really what the second one is, of the latter is in no need of proof, perhaps the former is. One author agrees in his own assessment, declaring celibacy as the cause of great burdens paving the way to great scandal among the clergy. Among the many consequences of celibacy, concubinage stands out as the leading grievance among the age. While some priests, most had one concubine that he faithfully loved, had children with, but never married, many other priests had many concubines dwelling within his home. Among the priesthood, it was seen as an honorable thing, culturally, to have concubines in his care, despite the Pope's and Council's decreeing otherwise. The Fourth Lateran Council, that we've mentioned, prohibited all such actions, but the church still secretly accepted financial compensation from these priests when they would confess this sin in the booth. For these things, Bonaventure, the theologian, said, "Very many of the clergy are notoriously unchaste, keeping concubines in their homes and elsewhere, or notoriously sinning here and there with many persons." There are certainly exceptions. The evidence proves and displays a very low quality of clergy in the late medieval age. It was commonly seen among the church and the wider public. It was so clearly evident that even though this first call for reform was put to death for the calling out of the sins and abuses of clergy, many within the church soon began doing the same. This would only lead to one thing: attempted reform. Let's linger on that. Lest one believes that no reform attempts were ever attempted until Luther's famous mallet moment at Worms, it should be noted that many had already called for reform in previous ages. Mention has already been given of the patterns of straying and renewal throughout the history of the church, going as far back to the first ascetics, the desert fathers, and then those Cluny monks seeking to reform to a more faithful clergy order. But others like Bernard of Clairvaux would criticize the worldliness of the pope and priests. So by the time of the late medieval age, the low living of the clergy had reached its highest point. This led to church councils: The Council of Pisa in 1409, the Council of Constance in 1414, and the Council of Basel in 1431. These three councils were notably convened to address three large matters of concern to Catholics at this time. First, they wanted to talk about heresy, and they would define heresy as John Huss and the Hussite movement, the Bohemian Czech reformer who was getting out of hand, we need to squash him. They wanted to talk about schism. There were three popes by this point that each had a claim to be the true pope. They needed to choose one of them or none of them and bring a new one. And lastly, reform of the church in its head, pope, and members, clergy. The Council of Pisa marked the first formal attempt at reform. Yet it's generally remembered, if you look it up by historians, to be at best a desperate measure by those who did not know what to do, and at worst, a failure amid an ecclesiastical emergency. Basel, the council, was the last council to attempt to address these issues, and while it did solve the schism issue, it really did not succeed in much else. The abuses and low living of the clergy continued and would only increase in the subsequent years ahead. Councils of future generations would even vote to dismiss and get rid of altogether the councils and decisions of Pisa and Basel. With only a few remaining in attendance, the final decisions were made at the Council of Basel so quietly that it was not even among the noticeable events of the day. But in between these two councils of Pisa and Basel is the infamous Council of Constance. Infamous for its decisions as well as infamous for its press in the wider culture. The purpose behind the Council of Constance was the same as the other councils. As its attendants, they gathered to address abuses, scandal, and schism. Yet unique to Constance was the trial and the execution of the Bohemian reformer John Hus, a troubler to some, a hero to many others for his translation of the scriptures into Czech and his rejection of the infallibility of church councils. This happened at Constance. It was officially begun on November 1st, 1414. And during the four years of its many meetings, thousands of clergy, kings, princes, professors, bankers, artists, tourists, and more would frequent the city to join in, contribute to, or just watch the sessions of the council. The first number of sessions debated and discussed the heresies of John Wycliffe and John Hus, and ended with Hus' execution. The following sessions turned to three rival popes: John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict XIII. They removed John, and it was clear the council intended to remove all three and install a pope of their own making. This plan slowly succeeded, and Cardinal Otto Colonna, under the name Martin V, was elected as a new pope. This negative effect of this act was that popes were really no longer seen as those who could be counted upon to properly handle the affairs of the church. Martin V would be remembered as, quote, "a creature of the council," due to his election and creation at the Council of Constance, effectively leading some historians to believe that Constance itself and the new regular push for reform councils came to be the new seat of true authority over the church, rather than the pope. Standing against the high hopes and aspirations of Constance are widely circulated tales, not altogether proven untrue. Constance itself, the city, was turned into something of a spectacle with all the travelers coming to it and seeking to witness these sessions and these meetings. Not only did the council attract many godly people from all over the region for godly purposes, it also attracted the powerful and the wicked among the church as well, which is seen in the infamous budget line items of the Council of Constance. You will look near the bottom and you will see a budgetary line: prostitution. They had to take care of all the people in attendance, hence the problem. The writing seems to be on the wall here. Constance met to address the issues of the absence of morality of the day, but they also reflected these abuses of the day, the blemish and irony we really don't need to further mention. Ultimately, while not truly addressing all and reinforcing unhealthy doctrine, the Council of Constance would pave the way forward for much in the Protestant Reformation. Here, Constance is a council that not only convened directly against papal authority, or sorry, and abuse, but one that freely debated and discussed many items never yet allowed, and one that truly represented how disenfranchised the wider culture was with the church. One thing remained after the Council of Constance and its infamous decisions: the church needed reform. And it was only about 50 years later in 1483 when Luther would be born. And the echoes of reform coming down from those first monks at Cluny would continue to resound. I just covered a lot, I know that. We focused, let me wrap up a little bit, on the social reality of the late medieval age. We did not talk about the cultural realities of the late medieval age, or the theological realities of the late medieval age, but the ecclesiological or ecclesiopolitical trajectory of this time and how it contributed toward a greater understanding of the impoverishment of the church during this age. Into this context, not only was Martin Luther born, but Martin Bucer was born, John Calvin was born, and they picked up the torch for needed reform. All these reformers were children of their own time, and the church I described to you was the church that these men were born into. It was not the church, by God's grace, that they left upon their own death. That was a work of grace to recover the truth that had been hidden for ages. Thoughts, questions, comments, that was a lot, I know.

So in Philippians 4, last week we talked through verses 2 through 9, and Paul moves from sweeping themes of chapter 3, pressing on, standing firm, to grounding us in a call for a gospel-shaped life together in the church. So he begins by addressing, if you recall, a fracture that happened between Judea and Syntyche, and their urge to agree in the Lord, not by pretending necessarily that nothing happened, but by bringing their minds and their affections under Christ. So their unity matters because their conflict threatens the peace and the witness of the congregation. So Paul then widens the lens to the whole church, rejoicing the Lord, let gentleness mark you, and replace your anxiousness with prayerful dependence. So he calls believers to bring everything to God, and that it would be requests, burdens, fears, and even thanksgiving, and promises that the God of peace will guard hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So finally, Paul presses further and beyond the prayer and to daily habits. So he pleads with us that we would think on what is true, what is honorable, what is just, what is pure, what is lovely, what is commendable. Then practice what you've learned, and what you've seen in me, how Paul has displayed that. So Christian peace is not passive, it's cultivated through prayer, and reflection, and walking in step with Christ. So tonight we're in verses 10 through 23, as we close this out, and Paul begins to close the letter by speaking to the Philippians their generosity. And not only their generosity, but their gospel partnership that they had with him. So he expresses a sincere joy in their renewed care, but he also lifts their eyes beyond that. The gift itself is what to reveal is a Christ-shaped contentment in every circumstance. And he's proud, and he's thankful for this gospel-shaped and shared investment in advancing the gospel that he labored for so much. So this final section will leave us with Paul's testimony of an all-sufficient Christ, and the worshipful nature of sacrificial giving, and the promise that God will supply his people's needs. So again, three points as usual. Verses 10 through 13, Thanksgiving for gospel partnership, worship through generosity, verses 14 through 20, and grace to the whole church, verses 21 through 23. So let us begin, Thanksgiving for gospel partnership. Paul says in verse 10, I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have received your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I could do all things through him who strengthens me. So verses 10 through 20 function as Paul's extended thank you to the Philippians for their generous support during his hardship. But even as Paul expresses a sincere gratitude, Paul is careful to clarify the source of his joy. It's not their money, per se, so he doesn't want him to think that his rejoicing is driven by a relentless or need, though Christ were not enough until their gift arrived. The gift wasn't his joy, it's Christ. So beneath that thank you note, Paul quietly teaches an example. What looks like to be deeply, steadily content in the Lord Jesus, whatever that circumstance may be, we are to be content in knowing Christ, even in hardship. So Paul begins to draw his letter to a close in verse 10 with a very personal word. He says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have received your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. So you can kind of hear his warmth here, right? His pastoral heart. Paul isn't scolding them necessarily for a delay of them sending a gift. He's recognizing their love and the providence that God finally opened the door for them to help. So in the opening line, also ties right back to what he just commanded in his previous section. Rejoice in the Lord. So as we've seen, Christian joy isn't the denial of hardship. No matter what the circumstances, it's the steady confidence that Christ will keep his promises. It's knowing that, it's holding on to that, it's trusting in Christ's promises. So we can rejoice not because circumstances are easy, but because God finishes what he starts. God is faithful. He's good. The God who began a good work in his people will carry it through to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. That's why joy can survive both plenty and want. That's what Paul is getting at, through peace and pressure. So even now, as citizens of heaven, we live with our minds and our hearts awaiting for the Savior and anchored by a hope that cannot be shaken. So Paul's joy here doesn't stop at the Philippians' gift. It essentially rises through the gift to the God who stands behind it. One commentator, Gordon Fee, notes, Paul's thanksgiving is deliberate. He said, in the Lord, because what he ultimately celebrates is not money in his hands, but grace at work in the hearts. So in other words, when the gift arrives, Paul refuses to let his delight terminate on the gift itself. See, he recognizes it as the Lord's own provision, given through the loving hands of the church. See, this is another testimony to Paul's trust in God's sovereign care. The Lord supplies his children often through his people. You and I can be so thankful for that, that a loving church and members would provide for us in a need. And that's the same heart that we should have. See, what Paul is celebrating here, he did receive a gift. And he receives this gift as genuine love and thoughtful care. But he refuses to let his gratitude just stop with the Philippians. See, he traces their kindness back to God. It's God at work among them. It's God using them to bless him. So their giving is not merely human kindness. It's a visible fruit of grace. Sacrificial giving, when we give sacrificially, it's a visible sign of fruit, of God showing grace in our life. So when believers hold Christ as their treasure, their grip on lesser treasure is loosened. And the gospel is strengthened through joyful sacrifice. And that's how Jesus is put on display. So if you want Christ to be honored, pursue a heart that is satisfied in him. And let the satisfaction show itself in open-handed generosity. So poured out for the good of the saints and the spread of the gospel. So in verse 11, Paul says, not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. So the word content can describe self-sufficiency or independence. In other words, I don't need anything else in order to be satisfied. You see, Paul here did not want the Philippians to assume that his joy rose and fell because of finances. The letter itself proves otherwise. See, Philippians is saturated with joy. And it was written when Paul was in captivity. So if anyone could claim an excuse for despair, it was Paul. Paul was in prison writing this letter. Yet his rejoicing did not come from being in comfortable circumstances, but from his secure standing in, knowing that he was saved by God. Christ. See even behind bars he was convinced that God's purposes were advancing in his life. Just because he was in prison does not mean the gospel stopped. And that reality mattered more to him than any change in his outward condition. So no matter what is happening around him and whatever is being done to him, his contentment remained steady. As he explains in verse 12, he had experienced the full range of circumstances. Seasons of abundance and seasons of need. Days of ease and days of affliction. Yet the shifting tides did not dictate the state of his soul. His soul was anchored in Christ. He was not ruled by his situation. You see in every condition his joy and satisfaction were anchored in the reality that circumstances could not reach or disrupt. His soul and heart and mind and focus was anchored in his union in Christ. That was his source of joy. So contentment means learning how to live faithfully when you and I are brought low. So clinging to hope and trusting that God is able to sustain you and in his time lift you up. But it also means learning to live wisely when life isn't pleasant. When we are tempted to be prideful in self-reliance, remembering that seasons of ease are gifts. They are gifts of grace and they're not guarantees of permanent comfort. So in fact prosperity can be in a sense a subtler test than adversity. So God may grant good times as merciful or as a foretaste of the gore-de-camp, but they can also tempt us to be prayerless and independent on our own strengths. So ask yourself, do you see God more earnestly when life is hard? Do you seek God more earnestly when life is smooth, when things are going easy? The secret Paul has learned is this, whether life is pleasant or painful, whether he is well-fed or hungry, his joy does not hang in the balance of his circumstances. His happiness and satisfaction are anchored in Christ. You see, Paul labored diligently, but he understood that his deepest stability and everything truly he needed to endure in life was found not in what life handed him, but in Jesus Christ. If you're familiar with the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs, he wrote a book called the Rear Jewel of Christian Contentment, and he says, if I become content by having my desires satisfied, that is only self-love. But when I'm contended with the hand of God and I'm willing to be at his disposal, that comes from my love to God. See, Philippians 4.12 is Paul's opening his heart and letting the Philippians see what contentment looks like when it has been tested over time. He says, I've been brought low, I know how to abound. In other words, he has walked through both extremes, and seasons full and seasons less, and neither one gets to be lord over his soul. See, Paul doesn't pretend that hunger is easy or that abundance is dangerous in every respect. He simply refuses to let either circumstances define him. Commentator Dennis Johnson points out, Paul is describing a distinctly Christian kind of stability. Contentment that is learned as Christ trains his people through changing providences, teaching them to receive both want and plenty with faith rather than fear. See, most of our unrest comes from believing we can't be okay unless life is going a certain way. We think we need less pressure, we think we need more money, better health, fewer problems, or more control, and then we'll finally have peace. Everything will be hunky-dory. Have finally have peace we have all this stuff See Paul says the Lord can teach you a better way He can steady you when you you're brought low. So you don't collapse into bitterness or panic and He can steady you when you have plenty so you don't drift into pride So you don't drift in prayerlessness or self-reliance See contentment guys is not It's it's not pretending circumstances don't matter It's learning to live in every circumstance without being mastered by it Because your life is held and provided for and governed by Christ So look at verse 13 I Can do all things through him who strengthens me See in this verse, it's so cherished and even taken out of context by God's people through the ages Paul declares that he is able to face Whatever the Lord calls him to because God himself Supplies the strength so in context it's clear that Paul is saying he can walk Through every kind of season well fed or hungry abundance or need Well-fed or hungry abundance or need and remain steady with true contentment you see the point of this verse is That Christian contentment does not come from favorable conditions But from the sustaining strength of our Savior It's not that I Can do all things through him who strengthens me and I can get all the money or I can get whatever job I want No, it's having the contentment That it's God who strengthens me Remember Philippians 3 verses 10 through 11. He said he wanted to know Christ not in theory, but in reality knowing the power of his resurrection and sharing in his suffering as He is conformed to Christ all the way to the hope of the resurrection See here in chapter 4 Paul is showing what that looks like When life is hard and when life is easy See Christ's resurrection power is not a religious slogan It is living the living strength by which God sustains his people in real circumstances and That's why the secret is not a shallow principle like Jesus can help you do your best if you ask him See Lawson is careful here Paul is not offering spiritual. He's not offering a spiritual motivational talk he is pointing believers to the risen Christ as the true source of stability and Endurance the resurrection is God's public declaration that Christ reigns with power over sin death and Everything Threatening every threatening circumstance and that's saying that same power is that work to strengthen Christ's people For whatever obedience suffering or faithfulness God calls them to in that moment in other words the secret to enduring trials and staying humble and steady in good times is remembering what union with Christ means What does that mean you belong to him? You share in his death and resurrection and you are learning day By day to live by the power of the one who died for you and now lives for you That is the strength that makes contentment possible You want to learn the secret of content contentment Remember your union with Christ and trust in that So, where does this strength come from how can a believer receive The kind of n-word supply that studies our souls So that contentment is possible No matter the circumstance it comes as we lay hold of the privileges of our union with Christ and live in daily communion with him as We draw near to him by faith Remembering that you and I belong to him Resting in his promises leaning on his presence. He supplies what we do not have in ourselves And this is not a self-made Resilience it is Christ sharing his strength with his people as they abide in him See Paul's contentment Doesn't diminish his gratitude it deepens it So now that Paul has made this clear That Christ is his sufficiency. He now turns to honor the Philippians through their generosity and shows them what their giving truly was, an act of worship and a fragrant offering to the Lord. Let's look at verses 14 through 20. Worship through generosity. Verse 14, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once again, needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I've received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be forever, amen. So in verse 14, Paul adds a warm affirmation. He says, yet it was kind of you to share in my trouble. You see, he wants them to know their gift and their love and concern and prayers behind it truly matter to him. And by sending support, the Philippians were not merely meeting necessarily a practical need, they were stepping into Paul's affliction and becoming partners with him in it. See, their generosity served as a visible pledge of solidarity. They stood with Paul, identified with him, and supported his gospel labor even while he suffered. The same pattern continues today, right? Look at the missionaries that we support, the churches that we support. When churches provide for missionaries and gospel workers in seasons of unusual need, sharing in their burdens as fellow laborers for the sake of Christ. See, Paul intentionally frames their generosity not as a donation, but as a fellowship, true partnership in the work of the gospel. Look at verses 15 through 16. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once again. When Paul says in the beginning of the gospel, he is referring to the earliest days when the gospel first took root in Philippi. So Acts 16, if you go back, records how Paul arrived with his companion and preached to a small gathering at a place of prayer where Lydia heard the word and believed, marking the first fruits of what would become the Philippian church. So the initial work soon widened through further conversations, including the Philippian jailer. And as the congregation formed and matured, they began to support Paul financially and standing with him in a way other churches did not. So Paul's language highlights not merely the timing of their support, but its exceptional character. The Philippians distinguished themselves by entering into a genuine partnership with Paul's gospel mission, even when they were comparatively alone in doing so. So after leaving Philippi, Paul traveled on to Thessalonica, where the Lord used him to help establish another church. But if you recall, he countered resistance there. So Jewish opponents stirred up a mob and provoked public turmoil in the city. That's Acts 17. Later, when Paul settled in Corinth for a season, the Philippians stood out as the only congregation that continued to support him. So their ongoing partnership reveals the depth and the bond reflected throughout this letter. See, these brothers and sisters were true partner in his gospel mission. See, Paul is eager to make sure that the Philippians don't misunderstand his heart. He wants them to know his heart. He wants them to know that he is grateful. He is grateful for what they sent, but he doesn't want them to think that he's chasing after their money. What delights him the most is not the gift, in a sense, in his hands, but the grace of work in their hearts. That's why you can say in verse 17, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. You see, their generosity is evidence that the gospel has truly taken root, producing faith that is alive and maturing and willing to be part with earth, willing to apart from earthly security because Christ has become their treasure. And Paul wants them to feel the comfort of this. You see, when believers give freely for the sake of Christ, it's never wasted. It's a kind of spiritual fruit that the Lord himself notices and delights in, fruit that will not be forgotten. This is not the prosperity gospel that I'm talking about. Give so you can get rich. It's the gospel of grace. God has already been generous to us in Christ, and that generosity begins to shape what you love and trust. So Paul encourages them. Your giving is a sign that your faith is growing stronger, that your confidence is shifting from what you can hold into your hands to what God has promised to you and his son. You see, Paul wants the Philippians to understand that he isn't hinting at more or trying to profit from their kindness. When he says, I have received full payment and more, I am well supplied, he's essentially telling them, I'm not trying to get rich off you. I truly have everything I need. As the commentator Osborne notes, Paul's deepest interest is not the gift itself, but the spiritual fruit it represents, fruit that increases to your credit because their generosity is evidence of grace that works in their life. Then Paul lifts their eyes even higher by shifting into the language of worship. He says, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice, acceptable and a pleasing to God. You see, this image of fruit points to God as the source of what they were able to give. The image of sacrifice points to God as a recipient of what they have given. See, yes, Paul benefits from the gift. He is strengthened and sustained by it. Just as the priests in the Old Testament were permitted to partake of portions of the offerings for their daily needs, but Paul's point is bigger than this. God supplied you so that you could give, and God receives your giving as worship, and Paul receives the provision, but the Lord receives the praise. Do you see that? See, when Paul promises, my God will supply all your needs, the you is not a generic reference to everyone everywhere. You see, in context, he is speaking directly to these believers who had sacrificially supported him. Paul's point is covenantal and pastoral because they have shared in gospel work through their generous giving. They can confidently entrust themselves to God's care. The Lord who enabled the generosity will not neglect them. He will provide what they truly need, including their materialistic needs, as they continue to seek his kingdom and invest in the advance of the gospel. So Paul assures them, my God will supply every good need of yours according to his riches in the glory in Christ. Notice what he does and does not say. He doesn't say, your generosity will ultimately secure you, or better circumstances will take care of you. He says, my God, the God he has trusted in hardship, the God who has never failed him, will personally provide for them in every way they truly need. Our God provides for us abundantly. He's reminding the Philippians that the God who saved them will also sustain them. And that is exactly what Jesus gives in Matthew 6. Don't be consumed with anxious questions about food, drink, or clothing. Set your heart on God's kingdom and righteousness and trust your Father to add what you need. To add what you need. You see, Paul is applying that same promise here. Gospel generosity is not a leap into the dark because the God who gives. Grace is also he also gives provision. Beloved we are called to live with open hands because we belong to an open-handed God. He has ravishly given us His grace. He has not dealt with us sparingly. He has been lavish in His mercy, giving His own Son to rescue us, to forgive us, to bring us home. So Christian generosity is not a virtue that you and I should admire from a distance. It's a grace we're meant to practice as a people who have been loved so deeply. It should be the posture of our heart. You see that's what you see in Philippians. They gave freely and sacrificially, not because Paul had somehow earned it, not because they wanted recognition, and not because they felt pressure. No, Paul wasn't like their mob boss. They gave because Christ had become their treasure and love overflowed into action. And when we live like that, our generosity becomes a testimony. What is that testimony? My security is not in what I can store up, but in the Lord who provides. It's one of the most tangible ways that you and I can show our neighbors, and even how it can impact our own anxious hearts, that we trust God more than money and we want others to taste that same kindness that we've received. So in verse 20, just before he turns to his final greeting, Paul lifts the whole passage into doxology. He says, to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. It's as if he gathers up everything that he's already said about partnership and provision and contentment and generosity, and he directs it where it ultimately belongs, to the glory of God. You see, the highest aim of everything that you and I do in our life is to the glory of God. Our lives are meant to display his worth, to make his name known, and to reflect that he is our greatest treasure. Beloved, when God's glory becomes our driving passion, our priorities realign around his kingdom, and our deepest desire becomes this, that his fame would be honored and spread throughout the entire world. You see, his point is that the gospel doesn't merely forgive, it transforms. It gives grace to love and serve Christ, to give freely to those in need, even to receive rightly, not as someone that's desperate or clinging for security, but as believers rejoicing to see God at work in the lives of others. And when grace produces that kind of life, the end result is always doxology. It's always praise. And God is the fountain of every good gift we ever offer, and God is the final aim of every act of obedience we ever render. All glory belongs to him now and forever. So even in our sanctification, our growth, our giving, our following Christ where he leads us, becomes a pathway back to praising him and worshiping him. From start to finish, it is of God and for God. Therefore, we should gladly join Paul in saying, to the Father, through the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. You see, Paul wants them to see that the gospel doesn't merely save us. It changes us. It gives us grace to love his people. It gives us the grace to give. And we need to understand that all glory belongs to him. So Paul moves from doxology to goodbye. Greetings to the saints and a final word of grace. Paul now turns to his final greeting, extending grace and affection to the entire church. So verses 21 through 23, grace to the whole church. I greet every saint in Christ Jesus, the brothers who are with me greet you, all the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. So Paul in verse 21 through 22 moves from doxology to a tender close. See, this is the second movement of his closing words. He ends in worship, then he ends in love. He writes, greet every saint in Christ Jesus, the brothers who are with me greet you, all the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. So in other words, after lifting our eyes to God's glory, Paul turns and strengthens the family bonds that grace creates. See, these greetings are the sound or the sound of the church being church. Real affection flowing from real union with Christ. Guys, they are the warm overflow of real fellowship with Christ. Again, Dennis Johnson notes that Paul's closing lines are deliberately pastoral. He wants the Philippians to feel that they are not isolated, not forgotten, and not alone in their stand for the gospel. You know, when you slow down, you can hear the pulse of Paul's affection and the repeated call to greet. First, the church in Philippi is urged to greet every single saint. No one is overlooked. No believer treated as insignificant. Then Paul adds that the brothers with him send their greetings. And in verse 22, he widens the circle even more. He says all the saints in Rome greet them as well, especially those of Caesar's household. See, even in the heart of the empire, Christ is gathering his people, and it's proof that the gospel is advancing and the world and the word is not bound. It is a threefold reminder that the gospel doesn't merely reconcile sinners to God, it binds believers to one another, knitting together a local congregation into one shared fellowship under one Savior. See, Paul speaks in the first person, and it's over 120 times specifically in this letter. He calls the Philippians his brethren, his beloved, his joy and crown of rejoicing on the day of Christ. See, that personal language is not accidental. It reflects a relationship forged in real gospel partnership. They had stood with him in difficult times, even supporting him when other churches did not, and they shared labor produced more than cooperation. It produced deep affection. And you can hear it early in the letter when Paul says it is right for him to feel this way about them, because they are in his heart. And when he testifies that he longs for them with the affection of Christ Jesus, you see, those repeated greetings aren't the kind of words you skim past. They're Paul reminding the church, you are loved, you are remembered, and you're not alone. The gospel doesn't just reconcile you and I to God. It binds us together as one. It holds us together. It stains us together with a love that feels like a family. It's deeper than that. He's reminding us that the church is meant to be a place where people are truly known and truly loved, because Christ has made us one. In Christ, we don't just share doctrine, we share life. And that shared life should naturally spill over into tangible warmth, into gentleness, into family-like affection. And Paul ends the letter with how he began it, with grace. Look at verse 23. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you with your spirit. See, this is not just a polite closing line that life would make your life feel easier. It's Paul's final most precious request for them. That the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ would be with them in a living and abiding way that's near and active, governing the whole of their inner life. In other words, he's praying for what Lloyd-Jones calls the greatest blessing imaginable. That Christ's grace would be present with them. and quietly and steadily controlling their spirits, shaping what they love, steadying what they trust, and empowering how they live. Beloved, the reason that all this is true is that grace is the sum and substance of the Christian life. Grace is how we began and how we continue and how we finish. From first to last, our salvation rests entirely on God's Son, on God's undeserved favor in Jesus Christ. Our justification is by grace. Our sanctification is sustained by grace. Our glorification will be the final triumph of grace. There's no boasting. There should be no room for boasting. We do not earn God's acceptance. We do not supply our own spiritual strength. And we do not take the credit for any lasting good in us. Left to ourselves, we have no moral resources to bring to God, no righteousness to offer, no power to change our own hearts, and no ability to stand. If we are to be saved and kept and brought home, everything must come to us as a gift, given freely by God through Christ. So how do you and I respond to Paul's closing words? See, if grace is the beginning and end of the Christian life, and if that grace creates real family bonds in the church, then this isn't just a closing that we just admire. It should be our life. And if Paul's final prayer is that the grace of Christ would be with our spirits, then our application is to live as people who actually believe that grace is near and that it's sufficient in shaping everything. So with that in mind, let's turn to application. So, Paul keeps bringing the Philippians back to the promises that steadies everything. The God who began His work in you will not abandon it. He will finish it at the day of Christ. On that foundation, Paul calls the church to stand firm and rejoice, whether the season is bright or dark. God has already given His Son and united us to Him by faith, so that the power that raised Jesus is not a distant truth, but a present reality for us. We endure by fixing our hearts on these certainties, learning to do all things through Christ who strengthened us, not by self-confidence, but by gospel confidence. That's how anxiety is quieted in our life, and needs are entrusted to God. And that's how contentment becomes possible. You see, in this gospel confidence should reshape our generosity. If God did not spare His own Son, we can trust Him to provide what we truly need. And that should free us to hold our resources with open hands. That's what shines in the Philippians. They gave sacrificially and freely, not to earn anything, but because grace had loosened their grip on earthly security. Paul ends with glory to God and grace to the church. The shape of the Christian life, grace received, obedience lived, generosity expressed, and God exalted. So practice contentment this week. And you can do it in two simple ways. Name one if only. And what do I mean by if only? If only this was better, or this was easier. If only I had this. What do you do with that? You turn it into prayer. You turn it into prayer with thanksgiving. And then you take it a step further. Then you bless someone intentionally. Give, serve, encourage. Beloved, because of God's ordinary ways of breaking our old and breaking the hold of discontent is to move us onward in love toward giving and serving and blessing others. Would you pray with me?

Last Sunday, in Philippians 3, verse 12, all the way to chapter 4:1, Paul showed us what it looks like to press on and stand firm. So with our eyes forward and our hearts anchored in our citizenship in heaven, the pursuit of Christ, as Paul gives an example, is like a runner, an athlete, pressing toward the finish line. Paul openly confesses that he has not arrived yet; he's not perfected this life of being a Christian. And yet, he refuses to slow down. He's ready to keep moving forward because Christ has already taken a hold of him. Christ has gripped him, and Paul presses on, leaving what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, toward the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus. Along the way, Paul draws a sharp contrast between those whose minds are fixed on earthly things and those whose true citizenship is in heaven. They have their minds set upon things above, set on heavenly things, waiting for the Savior who will transform them and transfer their lowly bodies to His glorious body. This section that we're about to get into climaxes at chapter 4, verse 1, basically with a steady and urgent charge. Paul says, "Remember, stand firm in the Lord." In light of who you are and where you are headed, don't drift. Paul is saying, "Stand firm in the Lord. Hold your ground in Christ." Flowing directly from the call to stand firm is where we get into our passage: Philippians 4, verses 2-9. This passage shows us what steadfastness looks like in real life, in ordinary life. Paul begins with the church's peace, calling others to help preserve unity. Then he turns to what I would say is the heart's peace: rejoice in the Lord, let gentleness be evident, and meet anxiety with prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, resting in the promise that God's peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ. Finally, Paul addresses the mind's peace: discipline your thinking by dwelling on what is true and excellent, and put into practice what you have learned and seen in faithful Christian examples. The result is not merely a calmer life, but a stronger one marked by God's presence. The God of peace will be with you. In verses 2-3, we see an entreaty for unity. In verses 4-7, an exhortation to joy and prayer. And then in verses 8-9, Paul gives an exhortation to holy thinking and doing. Remember, verse 1 functions both as a closing appeal to everyone Paul has said so far and a hinge for what mature Christian living looks like in the middle of a twisted and crooked generation. Paul has been calling the Philippians to spiritual maturity, and now at the start of chapter 4, he begins to spell out what a mature mind and life actually looks like in the daily and ordinary life of a Christian. Mature Christian thinking and behavior begins with standing firm in the Lord. That is the ground right there: standing firm in the Lord. The pursuit of holiness starts with Christ and it ends with Christ. Paul could have opened this section by listing a string of commands for a church facing pressure, false teaching, and relational strain, but instead, he begins where maturity always begins: with the person of Jesus Christ. His call is simple: "Stand firm in the Lord." As you pursue maturity and unity, stand firm in the Lord. As you face those who undermine the Gospel and stir up division on purpose, stand firm in the Lord. Paul anchors the church not first in their resolve, but in their Savior, because he wants you to understand that lasting maturity grows ultimately from a steady grip on Christ. Flowing out of Paul's command to stand firm, he immediately applies it to the place where steadiness is often tested first: relationships in the church. He gives an entreaty for unity. Paul begins in verse 2 when he says, "I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the Gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." As we move into verse 2, Paul begins to draw his letter toward a close after his charge in verse 1 for the church to stand firm. He immediately applies that call to a real situation going on in the congregation: an ongoing conflict between two women. It's not hard to see the connection: when believers are divided, they become spiritually unsteady. A church that is pulled apart from within will struggle to stand firm when pressures come from the outside. Paul speaks directly and pastorally here. We aren't told exactly how the dispute began or what the exact issue was, but Paul clearly knows it is seriousserious enough to address publicly. He had known these women from his early ministry to Philippi roughly a decade earlier, and it's likely that Epaphroditus, who brought news from the church, informed Paul that their relationship had fractured. Whatever the specifics, Paul's burden is clear: unity in Christ is not optional for a church called to stand firm. Consider who these two sisters are. Paul names them plainly: Euodia and Syntyche. They appear nowhere else in Scripture, yet the details given are enough to sketch their profile. They were real women in a real congregation. When Epaphroditus returned with Paul's letter, it was read aloud, and they would have been there to hear their names spoken in the assembly. That alone shows Paul is not dealing with a minor, private irritation. Addressing them publicly indicates this disagreement had grown serious enough to disturb the unity and stability of the church's life and witness. Rather than simply telling them to stop arguing, Paul gives a far deeper command: "Agree in the Lord." Literally, it's to think the same in the Lord, to share the same mindset. Let your affections, desires, and aims be brought into alignment with Christ and under Christ. Agree in the Lord because the Lord is the one who will judge you, the one who has redeemed you, and the one who laid down His life for you. To be worthy of your attention, it will steadily shape your desires, your reactions, and ultimately your obedience. It'll shape your affections. Verse 8 is a command to cultivate a mind that is habitually occupied with what accords with God's truth, training your attention, affections, and evaluation so your thought life is increasingly governed by what is true and Christ-like rather than what is false or corrosive. What you repeatedly entertain in your mind steadily forms your heart, and what shapes the heart eventually directs the life. This dwelling is part of God's ordinary means of producing mature, steady Christians who can actually stand firm when pressures and temptations come. When you train your mind to linger over what is honorable, just, pure, and praiseworthy, you're not doing a small self-help exercise; you are participating in the ordinary means by which God reforms your desires, steadies your heart, and prepares you to live faithfully. In verse 9, Paul says, "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you." Paul binds together holy thinking to holy living. The very realities believers are commanded to dwell on are the truths they have learned, received, heard, and observed through apostolic teaching. Paul is the example. Therefore, they are meant to be put into practice, not merely admired. Paul is not aiming at Christians who can talk well about virtue, but Christians who conduct a life steadily shaped by the Gospel. Godly behavior doesn't arise randomly; it grows out of a mind formed by truth and right thinking that shapes our affections, strengthens the will, and directs our obedience. Paul deliberately piles these verbslearned, received, heard, and seento stress the comprehensive way the Philippians were formed by apostolic instruction and pattern. Then he presses the necessary conclusion: the church must translate doctrine into practice as the normal rhythm of discipleship. Paul's promise here is not necessarily a vague inspiration, but a covenantal comfort. As believers practice what they know to be true, they enjoy the Lord's steady presencethe God of peace with them, granting stability that comes from both sound thought and lived obedience. Notice Paul's promise at the end of verse 9: "And the God of peace will be with you." He doesn't merely say you'll feel peaceful; he promises something far better than passing emotion. He promises the presence of God Himself. Peace, in Paul's logic, is not first a mood that we can manufacture. It is a gift that flows from communion with the Lord. Paul is directing believers away from chasing a calm temperament and toward abiding fellowship with the living God, the one whose nearness steadies the soul even when circumstances remain hard. God's peace is experienced as our minds are shaped by His truth and our lives are shaped by obedience to that truth. Peace comes after we begin thinking and living rightly, which is the opposite of how we naturally operate. We tend to believe the familiar lie that peace will come through distraction, entertainment, comfort, or some other worldly pleasure that helps us forget our burdens. But those substitutes never satisfy us; they never give us true peace or true joy. They are fleeting, numbing for a moment but leaving us emptier than before. The peace we actually long for is found as we pursue what Paul commends: whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. When those realities shape the mind, they inevitably shape the life. Paul is not necessarily handing us a checklist for self-improvement, as if peace were the reward for a perfectly disciplined thought life. He's leading us back to a person. Paul always leads us back to Christ. That's why he ends the way he does: "Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you." The promise is not merely that you'll feel better or worry less; it is that the Lord Himself will draw near. Your pursuit of right thinking and right living is not merely a moral effort; it is communion. Every time you turn your mind toward what is true, choose what is honorable, refuse impurity, pursue what is lovely, and imitate godly examples, you are walking more consciously in fellowship with the God who gives you peace. Paul has moved from unity in the church to joy and prayer in the heart, and to holiness in the mind and life. Now the question is simple: what does this look like for us on Monday? How do we actually practice agreement in the Lord, rejoicing in the Lord, praying instead of panicking, and thinking on what is excellent when we're tired or irritated? This message is meant to meet you where life is actually lived, in the ordinary. Start where Paul starts: with unity. Is there a brother or sister you've been avoiding? Maybe you have resentment or have been ignoring them. Don't let that sit or harden. Paul's call is not to win an argument, but to agree in the Lord. That means you come with Christ to humble yourself, to listen, to own your sin, to forgive, and to be ready to take the first step towards peace, even if it costs your pride. If you're the one asked to help mediate, don't come as a judge; come as a servant. Help both sides see themselves in light of the Gospel, and remind them that what binds them in Christ is stronger than whatever is dividing them. Whatever disagreements you have with Christians, know that the Gospel that binds you is stronger than that disagreement. And if you're sitting here and your heart has been anxious, take comfort. Paul is not scolding you or calling you weak; he's showing you where to take your weakness. Turn your worries into prayer. Thank Him for what is already true in Christ. Then, with the same tenderness, guard what you have given your mind to. Guard your mind with what you put in itwhat you watch, what you listen to, what you set your affections on. If it's none of what Paul says is commendable in verse 8, is it worthy to be put in your thoughts? Your soul is not strengthened by the things of this world. Fill your thoughts with what is true, pure, and worthy: Scripture, the character of God, the promises of Christ, and examples of faithful saints. Then practice what you already know. Preach the Gospel to yourself. The goal isn't to polish yourself up into a better version of you; it's to walk with the Lord. And that's the sweetest promise at the end of the passage. Beloved, as you pursue Christ in these ordinary stepsseeking peace, praying instead of panicking, thinking on what is excellentknow for certain that the God of peace will be with you. Because we know who that person is. That person is Christ. Would you pray with me?

So, last week in Philippians 3, verses 1 through 11, Paul warns the church against a dangerous kind of religion, one that puts confidence in the flesh, and he tells the Philippians to watch out for those who boast on outward performance and human credentials, as though righteousness can be earned by a proven religious performance. So then, Paul turns the spotlight on himself, if you recall. He says if anyone could claim a spiritual advantage, it was he. He had the pedigree. He had the accolades, the training, the zeal, the reputation. He had it all. Yet Paul makes a stunning confession. Everything he once counted as spiritual gain, he now counts as a loss, even rubbish, because Christ is worth more than all of it. And his deepest desire is no longer recognition. It's no longer like his moral achievements, but it's to be found in Christ with a righteousness that comes through faith, and to know Christ personally, to know Christ more intimately, to know Christ in his resurrection. He goes further in Christ's resurrection power, and even the fellowship of his sufferings. So it's not just to know Christ, but to intimately know Christ and his sufferings and death. But Paul does not want the Philippians to think that this new life in Christ means he has already reached the finish line. He hasn't gotten there yet. He has real assurance, but he is not complacent. He has a true righteousness, but yet he has not yet arrived at a full Christlikeness. So that's the bridge to this section, and we're going to begin in Philippians 3, chapter 3, verses 12, all the way up to chapter 1, verse 4. So Paul shifts from, if you would say, a testimony to pursuit, showing what it looks like to live between grace received and a glory promise. So he calls believers to press on with a holy determination, to follow faithful examples, and to resist the pull of an earthly-minded lifestyle. And he anchors that perseverance and hope, which is our citizenship in heaven. And Christ will return, he will transform his people, and therefore Paul's conclusion in chapter 4, verse 1, is to stand firm in the Lord. So again, three-point outline, verses 12 through 16, is pressing forward toward the heavenly prize, verses 17 through 21, living as citizens of heaven and not on earth, and chapter 4, verse 1, standing firm in the Lord while we wait. So pressing forward toward the heavenly prize, verses 12 through 16, not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus had made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. So Paul goes on here to describe his own life, but now his focus shifts from his past to present Christian life and the way he thinks on moving forward. So the imagery changes as well. He is no longer using the language of like an accountant, like gains and losses. He is using the language of athletics, he is using the language of an athlete, so he pictures himself as a runner on a track, straining forward and toward the finish line, pressing on to win the prize. And most likely he has in mind here the great athletic games of the Greco-Roman world. And his point is clear. This is what the Christian life is like. what the Christian life should be like. And it's not some casual stroll, as Adam would say. We're not barnacles on a ship. You know, we're not just some cruise ship where we're just sitting there. It's not an easy way of going. It's more like an Olympic distant race. I mean, the Olympics are going on, right? The Winter Olympics. So following Christ involves real effort. It's a deliberate discipline and a persistent endurance. And Paul, he holds up his own example here. And it's not, he's not boasting, but to show us that pressing on with all we have is the normal and it should be the posture of a believer who has been gripped by grace. That should be our posture. So in verse 12, after saying that his righteousness comes from God on the basis of faith, Paul adds an important clarification here. He says, not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus had made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I've made it my own. So in a sense, Paul piles up phrases to make one point clear. He has not arrived. He's not perfected. He's not yet fully laid of everything, bound up in knowing Christ and being conformed to him and sharing in his resurrection. When he says, I press on to make it my own, he uses the same verb that then he applies to Christ because Christ Jesus had made me his own. And you can honestly translate it as I press on to seize this because Christ Jesus has seized me. So Paul is looking back to the day on the road to Damascus when the risen Lord stopped him in his tracks, called him by his name, and took hold of his life forever. So from that moment on, Paul belongs to Christ. And the same thing for us when Christ has entered our life. So Paul's point is this. Because he has already possesses a perfect righteousness in Christ, he refuses to just sit still. He refuses just to be complacent. He presses toward the goal. And he's confident he will share in the resurrection from the dead. Yet, that assurance doesn't make him passive. It fuels his pursuit even deeper. It gives him the fuel to press forward. It gives him a pursuit of a deeper conformity to Christ in the present. And he is clear that he has not yet already obtained this or already had been made perfect. And it's certainly not in the way the Judaizers held out, kind of like a supposed spiritual completeness through law-keeping. He's not like them. Instead, because he has found in Christ and clothed in a righteousness that comes from God, he strains forward to know more of the power of Christ's resurrection at work in him now. So one commentator, Dennis Johnson, notes, Paul holds together both rest and pursuit, resting in a finished righteousness, yet running hard after the one who first laid hold of him. So Christ has taken possession of Paul, and that very grip becomes the reason Paul will never stop pressing on. So with death in Rome, remember, Paul has in mind that he's possibly gonna be facing death. So with death in Rome still a very real possibility, Paul fixes his gaze not on uncertainties of his circumstance, but on the certainty of the prize. But one thing I do, he says, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. See, he refuses to live looking over his shoulder, whether at past sins or past achievements. And yet, belonging to Christ did not make Paul passive, precisely because Jesus had laid hold of him. See, Paul now strains forward to lay hold of Christ. of all that Christ saved him for. So in other words, there is still more. Even with a perfect righteousness already counted to him in Christ, Paul refuses to think he has arrived. See, there is a larger goal before him. And that larger goal is to know Christ more deeply, to be made more like him, to reach the fullness of the resurrection life. And he does not want to waste a step of the journey. He doesn't want to waste that. So in verse 13, when Paul says, Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own, it is not because he has nothing new to say, but because he wants the Philippians to feel the tension of the Christian life, even though he is already clothed in the perfect righteousness that Christ has given through faith. He has not yet reached that final goal. And there is still more ahead, more growth in Christlikeness now, and the full enjoyment of what God has promised in the end. In your ESV study Bibles, it notes that Paul is speaking like an athlete in a race. He refuses to talk as though he has already arrived, because the life of faith is marked by settled belonging to Christ and an ongoing pursuit of Christ. So that is why Paul lays out this need to press on. So what he has already received is real, but it's not yet complete. So he frames this passage, as I've referenced earlier, as an image of a runner. I've come far by grace, but I can't stop and congratulate myself. I must keep moving forward. Then in verses 13-14, Paul describes now he runs, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind me in straining form to what lies ahead, I press on. So in context, forgetting what lies behind is not merely a slogan about moving on from past failures to Paul. It is Paul refusing to let the past, especially his past achievements, become a reason to slow down. In the Reformation Study Bible notes, Paul is not expressing an uncertainty about his justification. He is rejecting a complacency. See, true grace does not produce a spiritual passivity, but fuels perseverance toward the finish and fixes the believer's eyes on the prize God has promised in Christ. Christ is our prize. Christ is our goal of why we press forward, why we continue forward. Christ should be the prize. So that's why Peter is speaking to believers who feel scattered, and 1 Peter says, Prepare your minds for action. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. See, Peter knows that holiness does not grow in a heart that is drifting. It grows in a heart that is braced by hope, that has assurance, a mind that is girded in a soul that is anchored to the grace that is coming when Christ appears. Also, Hebrews says the same thing to Christians who are tempted to slow down. Hebrews 12, 1 through 2, Lay aside what weighs you down. Step out of the sin that keeps grabbing your ankles and run with endurance the race God has set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus. So that is such a kind command. See, God doesn't ask us to finish by our own willpower. He tells us where to look. See, when we are weak and our legs feel heavy and when we are tired and when we feel fragile and we stare down these miles that are ahead of us and we have pain and weakness, we are to look to Christ. See, remember that He has endured the cross. Christ has despised the shame and now He sits enthroned and our endurance is fed by Him. His endurance for us. And Paul in 2 Corinthians gives language to what so many of us struggle to say. Yes affliction hurts, and yes it can feel like it will never end, but it's not meaningless. Momentary light affliction is producing an eternal weight of glory as we learn to look beyond what is seen, as we learn to look beyond what is to see what is unseen. Then he takes us even deeper. Real sanctification happens as we behold the glory of the Lord. As we behold the Spirit steadily transforming us into that same image. So you don't change by staring harder at yourself. You don't look in the mirror and be like, I'm going to change, let me change, no. You don't stare at yourself harder. You change by looking at Christ, His beauty, His sufficiency, His example. Dennis Johnson, a commentator, puts it in a way that not only comforts but steadies. The New Testament's call to perseverance is never a cold try harder, but a warm summons to a hope filled endurance. A life strengthened by God's promises and sustained by the Spirit as we keep Christ's glory in view. See when you feel weak, the answer is not a manufactured strength on your own, it's to return your gaze to the Savior who holds you. So beloved, do you want that prize? Do you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? And the upward call is God's saving summons. It's His gracious claim on you in Christ. And that prize is not a generic better life now. Scripture names it that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. See one day the struggle with sin will be over. One day the sorrow will be swallowed up. One day your faith will become sight and the one you have chased, sometimes with strong steps, sometimes with limping ones, will be yours in fullness and you will share in His glory. And that's what we long for, that's what we hope for. So in verse 15, Paul is essentially saying, this isn't just my personal ambition. This is the normal and this should be the normal mindset of Christian maturity. It's not only Paul who should be reaching for Christ and longing to know Him and the power of His resurrection and pressing toward the heavenly call, it is all of us who are to think this way. It's not just for the elders, it's not just for the apostles, it's just not for the pastors, it's for every Christian to pursue this and to live this and to think this way. It's to pursue Christ with a whole heart. So you notice Paul is describing the standard and it should be the posture of the spiritually mature and to not be satisfied with a half-hearted Christianity. See, mature believers don't treat knowing Christ as a check-off box or an elective. They treat it as life itself. That should be our life, to pursue Christ and nothing else. But Paul adds immediately something very deeply and pastoral, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. See, Paul knows that what we often forget, and believers are not all at the same place. So not everyone has the same strength or the desire or the clarity or the steadiness. And some are new Christians, some deal with wounds, some deal with failures and past mistakes, and some are slow to grow, right? And Paul does not respond to that with contempt. He doesn't scold the weak as though they are a nuisance. He's very pastoral. He's patient, he's confident that God is at work. And Paul refuses to turn a spiritual growth into a harsh pressure campaign. He entrusts the process to God's sanctifying hand. Believing the Lord will bring his people along in due time. See this is exactly the spirit we need among ourselves. It's easy to be sharp with immature Christians, especially when their ignorance shows. Or their priorities are confused. Or their habits are lagged behind their profession. It's easy to be impatient with believers that are immature. But Paul models something better. Firm conviction about the goal and a gentle, patient with those still learning the pace. See we should be quick to teach and quick to encourage and slow to chastise. So the longer you've walked with Christ, the more tender you should become. Not some high and mighty condemning person, but humble and helpful. And scripture consistently portrays growth as gradual. The righteous path brightens like dawn until full day, Proverbs 4.18. See some need milk before they can handle the solid food. And here in Philippians, Paul's concern is not to shame those who are yet all in, but to keep setting the example of what true maturity looks like. Christ above all. Christ who is worth everything. Christ pursued with everything. The Christian life is not meant to be a carefully managed hobby. Paul's pursuit is wholehearted because Christ is infinitely worthy. And yet here, the kindness of Paul's confidence. God will make it clear. And God will grow his children. God is the author and perfecter of our faith. God is not finished with a slow and growing behavior that has easily distracted a believer. The believer whose desires feel weak and inconsistent. Paul does not think that yelling at somebody will produce Christian maturity. I mean, how would you like it if Adam was just yelling at you, stop, stop, stop. He believes God's will, so we pray more than we argue and we exhort, but we do not crush. We aim people toward Christ and we trust the Lord to deepen their hunger. Because the one who started the work will finish it. God is the author and perfecter. The God who began a good work in his people will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus returns. And that promise isn't necessarily a license to sin or a license to drift. And it should be a comfort to weary runners. You may not be where you want to be, but if you belong to Christ, you are not abandoned on necessarily the track of running. He is committed to your growth and he is willing to bring you home. So in verse 16, Paul brings his exhortation to a sharp point, only let us hold true to what we have attained. See his aim is not, his aim is that the Philippians are to keep walking in truth. That our justifying righteousness is God's gift, received through faith alone, in Christ alone and that they press on to finish completing that race toward that goal. See the upward call of God in Christ Jesus ultimately reaches forward to what Paul has already highlighted in verse 11, the resurrection of the body. But those who cave to these Judaizers simply to maintain a peace or who under pressure from the Greek and Romans grow weary and abandon the faith, place themselves in great danger of forfeiting the prize. See they risk missing the reward of Christ's call and the promises he gives to those who endure to the end. It's like the marathon runner who comes close but then quits, unready and overwhelmed, who's worn out by the hard course and becomes and therefore loses what awaits at the finish line. And Paul knows we won't finish well unless our direction is clear and our loyalties are settled. So he turns. from the posture of a runner to the identity of the believer who we are to determine how we live. So in this next section, Paul lays out what it is to be living as citizens of heaven and not on earth. And Paul calls the church to imitate a faithful example, to recognize the danger of an earthly mindset, and to raise their hope to the coming king who will transform their lowly bodies and bring them safely home. So let's look at verses 17 through 21. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many of whom I have often told you and now tell you, even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we wait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. So in these verses, Paul exhorts the Philippians to live in a way that matches the prize for which they have been running. See, in verse 17, he addresses them as brothers. And it's an affectionate term, and then he gives a pastoral directive. Join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. See, he's treating them as those who should want this kind of guidance, the mature. And he presses them to pattern. See, their lives, after believers, they already know who are pressing on to know Christ and His resurrection power, and to obtain the resurrection of the dead. And the point is not to create, necessarily, celebrity Christians, but to give the church visible, to give them embodies of models of Christ-shaped life, so believers stay oriented when competing voices try to pull them off course. So that's why Paul uses walk. Walk is Scripture's metaphor for one's whole manner of life. The direction, the habits, the loyalties, that defines who we are. The unbelieving world is crooked because it refuses the straight line of God's light revealed in Christ. But God, in mercy, gives His church examples to follow. And all of them ultimately flow from the supreme example, who is Christ. Jesus was humble and obedient. And Paul has already set that pattern before them in the Christ hymn that we've read previously. In chapter 2, Christ, though in the form of God, did not cling to His rights, but emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross. See, Paul's language of example is deliberate. The Philippians are meant to fix their attention on the apostolic, on Christ-conformed patterns so that they are not reshaped by rival patterns, especially those by the false teachers who redirect confidence from Christ to the flesh. So given the serious threats that are opposed by the Judaizers, tempting believers to abandon the race and to seek a kind of a perfection-grounded-in-the-flesh mindset, Paul is not asking the church to imitate him because he's basically showing this super-apostleship. Rather, he is to be followed because he is an apostle. He's hand-picked. Remember, he's commissioned by the Lord Jesus. And Jesus is the supreme example of humility. To serve as Christ's authorized messenger to Gentiles. Following Paul and those who walk in the same pattern is therefore a means of staying anchored to Christ Himself. And that's what Paul is getting at. Paul is not telling them to copy his personality or to mimic him for his own sake. He's calling them to follow his pattern because his whole life is aimed towards Christ. And that's the same logic he states plainly elsewhere in 1 Corinthians. Imitate me as I imitate Christ. So in other words, don't fix your eyes on Paul the man. Fix your eyes on Paul. on Christ, who shapes the direction of Paul's life. So Paul is saying, look at what I'm doing. I'm striving, I'm straining forward, I'm pressing on. I haven't arrived yet, but I'm pursuing Christ with everything in me. Imitate that. And he immediately broadens it. Keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. See, Paul is not claiming exclusive rights as the only model. If others are walking that same Christward path and living with that same mindset, then watch them also. Like all you older people in here that have lived a Christian life, you are an example to younger believers, and we look to you. And that's the same mindset that Paul is getting at. Not that they look to you, per se, as the model, but they see Christ in you as the example. See, Paul then pivots to a warning in verse 18 through 19. He says, not everyone is running the race. Some are actively moving in the opposite direction. And Paul doesn't describe them coldly. He speaks even with tears, because this is not necessarily a theoretical danger. There are many who walk as enemies of the cross. Their whole course of life contradicts the cross. Instead of dying to self, they indulge in self. Instead of seeking heaven, they live for earth. Instead of glorying in Christ, they glory in what ought to produce shame. And Paul summarizes their trajectory in four phrases. What does he say? He says, their end is destruction. Their God is their belly. Their glory is their shame. And their minds are set on earthly things. So in other words, the cross calls us to humble, to self-denying, to heavenward living. But these people have reversed the compass and made appetite, pride, and the present world their guiding center. Remember, we are called to be not of this world. So Paul's words in verses 18 through 19 are not just some cold warnings here. They are tearful warnings of a pastor who deeply cares and who loves his people. He says, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. He says, and now to tell you even with tears. Guys, do you see he has grieved here? He's grieved because he knows what is at stake. And the cross is not just a doctrine to affirm, it's a way of life to embrace. Dennis Johnson, a commentator, draws out that Paul is warning the church about a kind of spirituality that wants Christ's benefits without Christ's cross or his comfort without repentance, glory without self-denial, and salvation without surrender. And Paul weeps because that road feels easier in the short run, but it quietly carries people towards destruction. That grieves his heart. And then Paul describes what that cross life eventually reveals. Their end is destruction. Not because Paul enjoys saying that or saying hard things, but because love refuses to stay silent when this danger is real. He would not be a loving pastor if he did not care about this. See, their God is their belly. Their appetites become their authority. They glory in their shame. And what should humble them becomes what they celebrate. With minds set on earthly things, they live as though this world is all theirs. When their belly becomes God, life quietly reorganizes around comfort, cravings, and self. It may not always look scandalous, and it can look ordinary, just a steady drift into living for what feels good now rather than what honors Christ. And that's why Paul warns us, because spiritual drift rarely announces itself. It simply begins to steer. So then comes one of the sweetest lines in this letter. But our sedition ship is in heaven, verse 20. See, Paul isn't saying believers are above the ordinary responsibilities. of life, he's saying you must remember where you belong. That this citizenship language re-anchors our identity. And Philippi may be where they live, but heaven is their true commonwealth. And that changes what they value, what they fear, and what they pursue. And that should change our mindsets. And Paul adds that our citizenship is not an idea, it's a hope. It's a hope with a face. Says from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not merely waiting for circumstances to improve, we are waiting for a person to come. The same Jesus who took hold of you, by grace will return to finish what he has begun. And Paul ends with comfort that reaches all the way down to our weakness. Christ will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, verse 21. He does not promise that the Christian life will feel strong right away, he promises that it will end in glory. Lawson highlights that the power of Christ will use to renew his people in the same sovereign power by which he rules and subdues all things. That means your suffering, our suffering is not meaningless. Our aging is not ultimate. Our frailty is not the final word. The king is coming. And he is not only your savior from sin, he is your savior from decay. One day he will make you fully like himself, whole, pure, steady, and radiant with resurrection life. Beloved, don't we all long for that? So Paul's call is both sobering and it's also strengthening. Don't live as if earth were your home. This is not our home. Do you all long for the greater country? Or is your heart anchored into this world? Don't follow the crowd that drifts away from the cross. Lift your eyes, fix your hope, and keep running. You belong to heaven and your savior is on the way. So Paul's focus, again, is upon how the Christian future hope informs the Christian life in the present. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him, even to the subject of all things to himself. See, every Christian lives with a kind of a dual citizenship under the rule of Christ. We belong in an earthly sense to the nation where we were born and where we now reside, and that is our real temporal citizenship. Yet at the same time, we also belong to heaven, and that heavenly identity is not meant to be merely future-facing. It's meant to shape and to even reshape our lives in the present, because we are already united in Christ, already sharing in his risen life. We are called to look at earthly things through a heavenly lens, and that perspective guards us from the very distortions that Paul has been warning about. It keeps us from making appetite our master and from imagining that we stand right with God because of our externals, what we eat or refuse to eat, what rituals we keep or avoid, and even the assumptions that our opinions about what God should do carry weight with him. Heavenly citizenship reorders our priorities so that Christ's, not the flesh, sets that direction. See, Paul then points us to where our true king reigns now, and he teaches us to live with steady hope. See, if we die, we go to be with the Lord. If we remain, we wait for his return, and when he comes, our weakness will not have the last word. See, these lowly bodies, so often bent by sin and marked by the fall, will be transformed and made like Christ's own glorified body, and that is what the finish line Paul has been pressing toward, the resurrection of the body, the ultimate prize at the end of the race, and Christ will accomplish it because he possesses divine power over death itself and because nothing has always been the same. creation. Nothing in all creation stands outside of His sovereign control. Lastly let's look at verse chapter 4 verse 1. Standing firm on the Lord while we wait. Therefore my brothers whom I love and long for my joy and crown stand firm thus in the Lord my beloved. As Paul moves toward the close of his letter in 4.1 he also drives home everything he has been saying with a final appeal. He dresses the Philippians with a deep tenderness calling them the brothers and sisters he loves and long for and he speaks of them as his joy and crown. The grace given fruit of gospel labor that he cherishes as a reward from the Lord. And from that place do you see his pastoral affection here. He urges them once more to stand their ground in the midst of pressure and trouble. They are to remain steady in the Lord. Resting their confidence not in themselves but in the resurrection power of Jesus. The same power that will sustain them now and finally redeem them completely. You see we stand firm in the Lord who began his work in us with and his work in us will certainly bring it to completion. See in our endurance isn't finally fueled by grit or a spiritual like adrenaline but by Christ who holds his people fast. When the world feels unsteady our hearts grow weary. His promises become our anchor and he calls us he calls us to remain steadfast not with with anxious fear but with a glad confidence that the glory to come will far outweigh every trial that we face. Every suffering every ale. When Paul tells the church to stand firm in the Lord he isn't calling us to a spiritual paralysis. Standing firm is an act of resistance. It means pushing back against the steady pressure of a world that wants to make you forget who you are and where you belong. Dennis Johnson presses this further this command further. See perseverance is not merely hanging on but remaining rooted in the Lord. Staying anchored to Christ and his gospel when suffering false teaching or temptation rises or tries to shift your to shift your footing. And that the firmness is sustained by identity. Believers stand their ground because they live life from the reality of their heavenly citizen citizenship not from the shifting standards of the cravings of the earth. See that's why eternity can't be necessarily just some occasional thought that we have. It's our future that we are to think of now. Every choice either trains our heart toward that kingdom or suddenly distracts you from it. So we stand firm we stand from fixing our eyes on Jesus by leaning on faithful examples by leaning on those who live out the Christian life before us. We stand firm on Christ and we cling to the promise of his gospel. The world will always dangle its counterfeit joys in front of us and tempt us with comfort with success with pleasure but none of them can satisfy the soul that was made for God. When you live with heaven in view it changes everything. It should change how we spend our time, how we use our money, how we raise our children, how we love our spouses, how we love our neighbors, how we respond to conflict and how we suffer. So the call of this passage is clear. Don't trade the eternal for easy. Don't drift into the spiritual sleep through temporary carnal pleasures and don't lose heart because of passing troubles. Beloved, lift your eyes to Christ. Remember where your citizenship lies. Know that your king is coming and when he does every sacrifice made for His sake will be worth it. Therefore, stand firm in the Lord, stand firm in grace, stand firm in His hope, stand firm in His gospel that saved you. The world and its desires are passing away, but those who belong to Christ will share forever in His glory. So how do we apply this to our life? How do we apply this passage? I'll tell you after I get a drink. Beloved Philippians meets us right where we live, between grace already received and glory still promised. Paul knows how easily we can fall. He knows how runners can fall in a ditch, right? Two different ditches. One is complacency, that whispers, since I'm forgiven I can ease up, and the other is condemnation, that groans, since I have failed I might as well give up. We kind of fall into those two things, right? And Paul won't let you make a home in either of those places. He calls us, he calls you, forward. Not necessarily to earn God's love, to earn God's favor, to earn Christ's love, but to know that because Christ is already taking hold of you and will not let you go. So we're to ask, where am I drifting toward? Am I drifting toward comfort that settles for a weak Christianity, or toward shame that keeps replaying failures in my mind over and over and over again, where I'm constantly condemning myself? See here, Paul's counsel for both. Don't stay chained to what's behind you, chained to what's behind you, neither sins that still accuse you, nor success that tempts you to relax. Lift your eyes and take the next step. Keep running, not with a frantic pressure, but with a steady hope in the Lord who carries you. He is the one who carries you. And then Paul also is very practical. He says, be careful who you follow because your heart is always being shaped by some pattern. How easily we are distracted, how easily we are tempted by idols and things of the world that deter us and distract us. We're always being shaped by some pattern. And beloved, take a gentle and honest inventory before the Lord who truly has your attention. Which voices are trying to distract you and shape you? What are you lingering over? What are you enjoying more? What do you worry about? What is an excuse you have in your life that you are putting before Christ? They're always forming your heart, either drawing you nearer to Christ or slowly dueling your hunger for Him. Paul says, fix your eyes on faithful examples, on people who walk the Christward path. Because drift rarely announces itself. It just starts to steer until comfort becomes your master and earth becomes to feel like home. But that is not who you are. Your future is secure, you belong to heaven, and your suffering is not final. You're waiting for a Savior when He comes and He will not only forgive you, He will transform you. So don't try to stand up on your own strength, on your own power. Stand firm in the Lord, steady in the Word, steady in prayer, and steady in worship and fellowship. And we must be quick to repent and quick to hope. And don't trade the eternal for easy comfort. Lift your eyes and keep running towards Christ. And stand firm, because beloved Christ is returning and He is our hope.

So in Philippians 2, 12-30, which we preached on last time, Paul shows us what the Christ hymn looks like when it is lived out in real people. So in chapter 2, verses 12-18, having just unfolded, if you recall, Christ's descent and exaltation, he says, Therefore work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Not to suggest that we earn salvation, but to call us to live out with a reverent seriousness when God has already worked in us. And the comfort comes in verse 13, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So our obedience is real and required, yet can only be done by God working in us, not in our own strength, right? So as our obedience is required, it is only by God. So we are to shine as lights and not be grumbling and crooked. We're to hold fast to the word of life. So Paul can rejoice even in his own life is poured out like a drink offering. Then in chapter 2, verses 19-20, he gives basically the flesh and blood examples. If you recall, Timothy, who embodies the mindset, genuinely concerned for the Philippians welfare, serving Paul, Paul would consider him a son and he would be his father in the gospel. And then Epaphroditus is his brother, his fellow minister, his fellow worker, fellow soldier that he references, who nearly dies in service to Christ, risking his life to complete what the church could not do in person. So together, these two examples show us what it means to work out God's work, which is should be humble and other focused, costly service that reflects the mind of Christ. So these guys were examples for us to live by. So now we step into Philippians 3, verses 1-11. So Paul is not suddenly moving on from what he has just said. He's putting his finger on the deepest rival to the Philippians way of life, and that's confidence in the flesh. So after calling us to rejoice in the Lord, he warns against any teaching that would quietly shift our trust from Christ's finished work to our own religious record, to our own backgrounds, to our own resume, or our own performance. And to make the danger concrete, he lays out his own impressive spiritual background, his own spiritual resume, and then counts it all as a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. And at the heart of this passage that we're going to get into is a profoundly pastoral question. Will you rest your righteousness or try to build your own? Or in a righteousness that God freely gives in His Son? So Paul's testament is meant to shepherd us. He gladly lets go of every lesser identity and achievement so that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, and to keep pressing on to know Him in His suffering and in the power of His resurrection. So the outline that I have before us tonight, verses 1-3 is rejoicing in Christ, not in the flesh. Verses 4-6, Paul's former confidence in the flesh. And then verses 7-11, Christ as true gain and righteousness. So before we walk verse by verse through this text, it would help us to see the movement of Paul's argument. So Philippians 1-11 unfolds in a deliberate progression. He begins with a command to rejoice in the Lord. And then issues a sharp warning against false confidence. And then he supports that warning with basically an autobiographical proof of his own unmatched religious resume. Then comes what is called the great reversal. What was once gain is now loss. At the center stands the heart of the gospel. Righteousness from God through faith in Christ. And then finally Paul expresses his ongoing aim is to know Christ in resurrection power and suffering conformity, pressing toward final resurrection. So the whole section moves from warning to truth. Testimony to theology to longing. So let's look at the first verse, three verses. We're to rejoice, rejoicing in Christ, not in the flesh. He says, finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So verse one opens with yet another command. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. So Paul's call to rejoice in the Lord, and this is like a dominant theme throughout the whole letter, is not a new idea, but it's the next link in a chain of exhortations that began back in chapter one. So when Paul says finally, he isn't signaling that he's about to close this letter. The word carries more of the sense of so then, or as we go forward, he's not winding things down, he's pressing deeper. And what he presses first is this, rejoice in the Lord. See, that joy is not necessarily a sentimental add-on to the Christian life. It is the spiritual climate, per se, in which everything else grows. A heart that is anchored in joy in Christ is a heart that can discern error without fear. And to stand guard without panic and to remain steady when false teaching is threatened. So joy in the Lord is the soil in which watchfulness and faithfulness can take root. So in other words, Paul is saying that in light of everything he has just urged them to do, it naturally flows that they are to rejoice in the Lord. The joy is not a shallow emotional add-on, but the proper atmosphere for obeying all prior commands of the letter. Those who take, basically those who take the exhortation of chapters one through two seriously and seek to live them out will find themselves like Paul, rejoicing in the Lord. So Paul goes on to say, look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. See, that's strong language here, right? Paul has just told them to rejoice in the Lord and immediately he sounds an alarm. See, he wants this church, which he loves, to be on guard. So who are these dogs? Who are these evildoers, these mutilators? He's warning them about the Judaizers, teachers who slipped into the church saying, in effect, Jesus is wonderful, but he is not enough. Their message was that the Gentile believers needed to take on key Jewish markers and keep the food laws, observe the ceremonies, and especially for the men to be circumcised if they really wanted to be long to the people of God. And it sounded religious and it sounded serious, but underneath it was deadly because it turned the gospel from Christ alone into Christ plus Christ plus law-keeping, adding on to what should not be necessary, or Christ plus religious performance. And by turning these proud religious men into dogs and mutilators of the flesh, Paul is exposing what their teaching really does. It does not beautify grace, it tears it apart. So Paul in verse three answers that false message with a clear reminder of who the real people of God are. He says, for we are the circumcision who worship by the spirit of God and in glory in Christ and put no confidence in flesh. So in other words, the true circumcision is not a group necessarily with a certain mark on their bodies, but a people who trust and whose hearts have been changed by God. They're those who worship is stirred and sustained by the Holy Spirit, who boast in Christ alone and whose trust is not anything that they can do or perform for God. but in everything that God has done for them in Christ. So this fits the whole story of Scripture. See, when God first gave circumcision to Abraham in Genesis 17, the physical sign was never meant to be the main thing. It pointed to something deeper. A heart set apart to God in faith. See, that's why Paul says, elsewhere, those of faith are the sons of Abraham. And if you are Christ's, then you're Abraham's offspring. So being God's child has never ultimately depended on bloodline, received by so or religious zeal or the ability to keep rules and has always rested on God's promise received by faith. So when Paul says we are the circumcision, he reminds the Philippians that in Christ they are the true covenant community. They worship in spirit, boast in Christ, and refuse to rest their hope in anything in the flesh. So first, Paul says that the true circumcision is those who worship by the Spirit of God. That stands in complete contrast to trusting in outward rights or human effort. The people of God are no longer marked by a physical sign in the flesh, but by an inward work of the Holy Spirit. These three descriptions in verse 3, worshiping by the Spirit, glorying in Christ, and refusing confidence in the flesh, function together as defining marks of the new covenant people. So it's replacing reliance on circumcision and law-keeping as badges of belonging. See, true worshipers know that anything pleasing they offer to God is energized by the Spirit's presence within them, not by their own religious grit. And worship by the Spirit of God is low on pride and high on dependence upon Him. And it breathes humble gratitude rather than self, like a self-congratulation. And this language here echoes the Old Testament promise of heart circumcision, where the Lord promised to do inwardly what the knife symbolized outwardly. And the prophets anticipated a day when covenant membership would no longer rest on external marks, but on an inward renewal by the Spirit. And Paul is saying that that day has arrived in Christ. The true covenant community is defined not by ethnicity, but by union with the Messiah through faith. Second, Paul says the true glory of circumcision is in Christ. What do I mean by that? Our boast is not in what we have done for God, but in Christ and what Christ has done for us. See, we exult in the Savior whose body was pierced and bruised so that we might be counted as God's own. The cross is not for us a bare or historical data point alongside other facts. It is a place where our hearts find joy, safety, and identity. To glory in Christ means we lean our whole weight on Him, His righteousness, His sufficiency, His finished work, not on ourselves. See, this is Christ-centered boasting directly counters the mindset Paul warns against in verse 2, which rests on religious conventions and performance. So third, Paul says the true circumcision puts no confidence in the flesh, and we do not treat our background, nor our morality, or our religious record as if they carried saving weight. We are not adding a little of Jesus to mostly adequate self. We are confessing that Jesus is our only hope. He carries all the freight. We bring nothing that can earn God's favor, and Christ has done everything necessary to secure it. See, that is what it means in practice to glory in Christ Jesus and to abandon confidence in the flesh. So when Paul says that writing the same things is safe for them, he's letting the Philippians know something we often forget. We never outgrow our need to hear the same gospel truths again and again. See, repetition is not a sign that something is shallow. It's one way of God's ways of keeping us safe. steady, and hearing it over and over that our joy is in the Lord, that our standing with God rests on Christ and not on us, that grace is free and full in Him, and that's our spiritual protection. It keeps our hearts from slowly drifting toward a Christ-plus mindset, a religious, pharisaical mindset, a we-do-anything-we-can-to-earn-God's-favor mindset. See Paul is like a careful shepherd walking the fence line, checking for weak spots and making sure the flock isn't exposed to danger, and he doesn't mind saying the same things because he knows their souls are safer when those truths are nailed down in deep. There's no other gospel. There's no other gospel. And this cuts closer to home than we might think, right? Most of us are not tempted to add circumcision to the gospel, but confidence in the flesh takes many modern forms. It can sound like, I come from a Christian family, I know my Bible well, I serve a lot in church, I live a pretty clean life. None of these things are bad, but they become dangerous when they quietly become our hope. We start to lean even just a little on who we are and what we've done instead of resting entirely on who Christ is and what He has done for us. See Philippians 3, 1-3 lovingly calls us away from that. See God's true people are those who depend on the Spirit, boast in Christ, and refuse to rest their confidence anywhere else. That's why Paul is about to lay out his own impressive religious resume in verses 4-6, and it's not to impress us, but it's to show us how completely he has let it go. If anyone could have trusted in the flesh, it was Paul. Yet he will say that compared to Christ, it belongs all the lost side of the ledger. That's where he's about to take us next. So let's look at verses 4-6, Paul's former confidence in the flesh. Though I myself, verse 4, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, also if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. So in verse 4, Paul turns and looks religious confidence square in the eye. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, he's saying in effect, if anyone thinks they know what it means to rely on a spiritual pedigree or performance, I do. See Paul is not speaking as someone who missed out on a Jewish privilege or stood on the margins of Israel's life. He stood at the very center of it. That is why he can add, if anyone else thinks he has a reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. He wants the Philippians to be clear. See when he exposes the emptiness of trusting in the flesh, he does so as a man who has a religious resume surpassing that of any Judaizer troubling the church. Stephen Lawson notes that Paul is piling up his credentials, not to impress us, but to show that even the most flawless record is worthless as a basis for righteousness before God. It all must be counted as a loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. See Paul is making it clear, when it comes to confidence in the flesh, he outstrips his opponents on their own terms. His Jewish pedigree and performance stands far above the dogs who boast in their religious credentials. He isn't critiquing this mindset as an outsider, he is someone who has lived that life to the fullest and now knows from experience how empty it really is. And he reminds the Philippians that he wasn't merely circumcised, he was circumcised on the precise day the law prescribed, in Leviticus 12. He belongs to the tribe of Benjamin, the only one of Jacob's sons born in the promised land, and from the tribe that remained. loyal to David when the northern kingdom broke away and later stood at the heart of the restored community after the exile. In terms of heritage, Paul stood in a line any Jew would have admired. Then he lists three personal distinctions to show why he could be called a Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the laws, he was a Pharisee, part of the strictest party, devoted to knowing, guarding and teaching the law. As to zeal, he had gone so far as to persecute the church, the followers of Jesus, and his former thinking, such a threat to the law that he tried to stamp them out. And as to the righteous, under the law, he could describe himself as blameless, not sinless before God, but meticulously observant as far as anyone could see. And this was not a man of empty talk, but of rigorous, disciplined obedience. All of this, Paul, is Paul's way of saying, if anyone understands what it means to rest on religious privilege or performance, I do. I have worn that robe more completely than any of these teachers who are troubling you. He is not warning them away from confidence in the flesh as someone who had never had it, but as someone who had it more fully than they ever will, and who, in the light of Christ, has now written it all off as loss. And he's about to show us in verses 7-3 that Christ is the true gain in righteousness. So let's look at verse 7. But whatever gain I had, I counted it as loss for the sake of Christ. Verse 8, indeed I count everything as loss because of the passing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His suffering, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. As at this point in this passage reaches its theological center, Philippians 3, 7-11 is not primary Paul's autobiography, it is soteriology. Paul's personal testimony serves to magnify a doctrinal truth. And what is that doctrinal truth? Justification rests entirely on Christ's righteousness, received by faith apart from works of law. Everything else in the paragraph orbits that reality. In verse 7 Paul describes what happened to all that supposed righteousness the moment Christ took hold of him. But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Everything that once went in the so-called prophet's column of his spiritual lever now gets moved into loss. Being the Hebrew of the Hebrews suddenly didn't count for anything. His zeal for the law, his fierce defense of traditions of his fathers, all of it, in light of the risen Jesus who stopped him on the Damascus road, proved to be worse than worthless. It was flesh, not spirit. It had brought him nearer to God, it hadn't brought him nearer to God, it had only deepened his guilt before God. Though he hadn't seen it that way until Christ opened his eyes by first taking his sight. So from that day forward Paul's assessment never changed. He can say indeed I count everything a loss because of this passing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And from his new vantage point all the self-righteousness, all the zeal that had impressed his family and his rabbis shrank to nothing. What he once called blameless, see he now recognizes as proud, blind confidence in himself. And it stripped that illusion by the realization that Jesus truly is Israel's Messiah. See, Paul finally sees now his former life for what it was. He sees Christ for who He is. In comparison with knowing Christ Jesus as Lord, everything else was a loss. Everything else is nothing. And the word Paul uses for loss is strong language. It doesn't just mean something neutral or no longer useful. It speaks of a liability. Something damaging that must be forfeited. It's the same noun used in Acts 27 when the ship to Rome is being battered by a storm and the crew starts throwing cargo overboard by staying alive. See, what had once been valuable merchandise, even vital food, suddenly becomes a threat to survival. And so it was hurled into the sea without regret. In the same way, when Paul realizes that all things he once counted as spiritual gain were actually standing between him and the life found only in Christ, he did not merely downgrade them to unimportant. He reclassified them as loss, positively harmful to his soul. If he clung on to them, he had gladly cast them overboard. So every pedigree, achievement, and religious credential went into the sea so that his whole confidence might rest in Christ alone. See, all these things that once gave Paul an edge in the eyes of men, he now gladly lay aside in order to highlight the far greater privilege of knowing Christ. And in verse 5, he lists a background that was spiritually impressive by every human standard, a rich pedigree, the right family, the right tribe, the right training. But once Christ took hold of him, all those natural advantages were eclipsed. What had once seemed bright and impressive now looked small and shadowy in the light of something infinitely better. So why could he see his former gains this way? Because he had seen the glory of Christ. The risen Lord met him, and in that moment, Paul became a different man, a man who loosened his grip on every earthly credential and reasoning for boasting. When we still draw our sense of worth mainly from earthly traits or our advantages or appearances or even our intelligence or status or relationships or money or success, etc., etc., it is often because we have not yet been captured by the beauty of Christ as Paul was. You see, just as the sun makes every other light look dim, so when the glory of Jesus really rises in our hearts, every form of human glory fades into the background. Look at verse 8. Paul says, for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. See this isn't just abstract language. Following Jesus really did strip him of status, reputation, and comfort. Yet he looks back and calls those former advantages garbage. He's glad to be rid of it. And the problem isn't that those things were evil in themselves, but they became spiritually dead once he leaned on them as his righteousness. You see, Paul would rather watch every credential fall away than cling to anything that keeps him from resting in Christ alone. And that's the force of the verse, of verse 8. Jesus is of such surpassing worth that every other treasure becomes expendable in comparison. That should grip you. And that in the same hard work the gospel does in us, whatever we, whatever you and I have been trusting, our background, or our morality, or ministry, or reputation, must be willingly laid down so that our confidence is found in Christ and in his righteousness alone. And Paul says in verse 9 that his great aim is to gain Christ and to be found in him. And that little phrase, in him, is the great fountain from which every other blessing of the Christian life flows. Everything else springs out of that reality. See, at the heart of Christianity is not a set of experiences or a bundle of spiritual perks that make life a bit smoother. At the heart is a person. In the gospel, you are given Christ Himself. He joins you to Himself, unites you to His own life, and binds you to Him forever. And because you are in Him, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is now yours in Him. Union with Christ is not one blessing among many, it is the reality of which all blessings come. See, beloved, being found in Him by faith is, for Paul, the greatest treasure that renders every other supposed gain empty. To be united to Christ means that His standing before God no longer rests on His own record at all, but on Christ's flawless obedience and sin-bearing death credited to Him. That righteousness is not something Paul contributed to or approved, it was given and received by faith alone. Once he saw that, all the things he once stacked up as spiritual advantages were exposed as spiritual liabilities if they kept him from relying wholly on Christ. And the only way to share in Jesus's righteousness is to stop trying to supply your own and entrust yourself entirely to the Savior, whose perfect record is accounted to yours. The passive expression, be found in Him, underscores that this righteousness is not achieved, but it is received. It is forensic and relational at the same time. To be in Christ means that His record becomes ours, His obedience counts for ours, and our identity is relocated entirely to Him. This is the fountainhead of assurance. So in these three verses, nine through 11, Paul gathers up the whole sweep of salvation and presses it into the believer's life, and he touches on three great facets of redemption. Verse nine, justification, verse 10, sanctification, verse 11, glorification. So what is justification? Justification is God's once-for-all verdict, where He declares a guilty sinner righteous in His sight because of Christ. The perfect righteousness of Jesus is credited to us. Our sins are fully forgiven, and we are received as acceptable for God, not because of anything in us, but entirely by His free grace. Sanctification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit by which God reshapes us into the new likeness of Christ. Little by little, He teaches us to put sin to death and to walk in new obedience. Unlike justification, this is not instantaneous, but lifelong. It begins the moment we are justified and continues until the Lord calls us home. And lastly, glorification, what we all long for, is the final completion of God's saving work. Remember, God is the author and the perfecter of our faith. It's the final completion of God's saving work when He will renew us, body, soul, and flawless glory. On the last day when Christ returns, every trace of sin and of the curse will be removed, and we will dwell with Him forever in the place He has prepared. So in Philippians 3, verses 9 through 11, Paul is not merely listing doctrines. He is confessing a Savior who has secured his past, is transforming his present, and will one day perfect his future. Paul gathers up the heartbeat of his life in verse 10 when he says that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. See, this is not the curiosity of a theologian basically collecting data. It is the longing of a disciple who wants deeper fellowship with his Lord. To know Christ here is personal and relational and experiential, a growing and living participation in who Jesus is and what He has done. And Paul wants to experience the power of Christ's resurrection, not only someday in a glorified body, but now as that resurrection power animates His obedience, it sustains His faith, and enables Him to put sin to death. At the same time, He doesn't want resurrection without the cross. He speaks of sharing in His sufferings. Not because He has some type of a martyr complex, but because He... He knows that to walk closely with Jesus in a fallen world will inevitably mean opposition. It will evidently mean loss. It will be costly. It will be a costly love. Commentator J.C. Meyer points out that this fellowship of his suffering is how the believer is gradually conformed to Christ. See our lives are reshaped along the pattern of his. As the spirit uses trials and hardships to carve the likeness of Jesus into us. See Paul's aim is not comfort but Christlikeness. Not an easy path but a deeper communion with the crucified Lord. That's why in verse 11 follows so naturally when he says that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the Lord from the dead. See Paul is not expressing doubt about whether he will be raised. He has already anchored his confidence in Christ's righteousness. Not in his own. So instead he's acknowledging the seriousness of the path that leads there. He does not presume upon grace. He presses on in grace. His language carries the sense of whatever the road the Lord chooses, whether marked by joy or by suffering, by a long life or by a short life, I want to walk it faithfully because the end of that road is to be with Christ in resurrection glory. For the believer this is both sobering and deeply comforting. Because it reminds us that the Christian life is a call to daily dying. To self. To pride. To idols. To sin. To comfort. Because every step of that dying is moving us toward a certain radiant future. Raised with Christ. Perfected in holiness. And finally seeing the one who we've longed to see and to know. And these verses invite us to evaluate our own desires. Do I want to know, do I want Christ himself enough to embrace both his resurrection power and the fellowship of his sufferings, trusting that the path of costly obedience is the road that leads to resurrection joy? Do I want that? Do I really want that? See Paul's great ambition was simple and all-consuming. He wanted to know Christ above everything else. Not just know about him, it wasn't superficial. But to know him in the fullness of who he is. See he longed to experience the power of his resurrection at work in his own life and in the church. God's power bringing about real transformation and advancing his kingdom. But Paul also wanted to know Christ in his suffering. He didn't run away from hardship or resent it. He saw suffering for Christ as a way to share in his Savior's path and he welcomed it when it meant Christ would be honored. Can any of us say that? Can we truly say that we want to suffer for the sake of Christ to be honored? See and he wanted to be conformed to Christ in his death. To live a life of daily dying to self and taking up his cross and following Jesus wherever he led. And his eyes were fixed on the end. To be united with Christ in his resurrection, sharing finally and fully in the life to come. And that raises some searching questions for us, right? What do we want most? What are you and I really praying for? If we truly know Christ, are we content to treat that as a finished box to check off? While we coast on spiritually? Are we just barnacles on a ship? Or are we pressing on to know him more, to go deeper into his word, his ways, his suffering and his power until knowing Christ more and more becomes the great pursuit of our lives? That should be the great pursuit of our lives. Not fame, not status, not money, not the good American dream. It should be the pursuit of Christ. And yet though Paul possesses Christ's righteousness fully, he has not yet... attained resurrection perfection. See justification is complete, glorification is not. The tension, already righteous, not yet perfected, explain why Paul will say in verse 12, not that I have already obtained this. Grace does not produce complacency, it fuels pursuit. Because he is secure in Christ, because he's secure in Christ, he presses on towards Christ. So let's look at some application. Beloved, this passage isn't Paul scolding you, it's Paul coming close like a wise pastor who knows how easily our hearts drift. Imagine Adam talking to you as your pastor, lovingly. He's not scolding you here, he's saying, let's be honest about where you run when you're retired, when you have failed. When you're anxious, when your prayers feel dry. When the text gently presses, what do you lean on then? And most of us will never be tempted to trust in circumcision or a pharisaical rule keeping. But confidence in the flesh still finds, right, a thousand more disguises. It can be our faithfulness at church, our theological knowledge, our moral record, our ministry involvement, our past experiences, our family heritage, or even our reputation as a serious Christian. None of these are bad gifts, but they become heavy burdens the moment we start using them as a kind of righteousness. And Paul, in love, won't let you build your peace on something you can't hold your weight. When life shakes you, beloved, you need more than I'm doing good. You need a Savior who doesn't change. If it can't save you, it cannot sustain you. Christ alone sustains you. And here's the sweetest part. Paul is not asking you to let go of everything only to be left with nothing. He's calling you to gain Christ, not merely to believe in facts about Him, but to have Him as your treasure. See, this isn't cold doctrine. It's the deep assurance to be found in Him, wrapped in a righteousness that is not your own, so that when you are partially aware of your sin, you're even more aware of His sufficiency. And then from that secure place, the passage invites you into a deeper and warmer Christian life. To know Him, to experience the resurrection power, is wonderful. To learn fellowship with Him, and even in suffering, to walk with Him in the path is costly, and to find that Christ is not only enough to forgive you, but enough to satisfy you. So ask yourself gently, not harshly, what do I treat as my gain? What do I fear losing most? Why do I secretly hope will make God pleased with me? And hear the good news. Underneath the call, you don't have to perform your way into God's favor. Beloved, in Christ you already have it. You already have it. When He becomes, when Christ becomes your surpassing worth, you can loosen your grip on lesser things. Not because life gets easier, but because you're already held by something better. Christ is better. Christ is most glorious. Compared to anything that we put in front of Him is nothing. May we cast off all things that we hold so dearly compared to Christ. Would you pray with me?

A reverent perseverance that depends on God's power, and a unity that refuses grumbling. A witness that shines in a dark world. And two living examples, Timothy and Epaphroditus, who embody the same gospel-shaped self-forgetfulness. So as we read, we're in chapter two, finishing it up. We're going to be doing 12, verses 12 through 30. Again, three points. Verses 12 through 18, worked out salvation, warm-hearted servanthood, Timothy, verses 19 through 20, and willing-to-risk servanthood, Epaphroditus, verses 25 through 30. So let's begin verses 12 through 18. Paul says, 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. 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. So look at with me at the opening words in verse 12. It says, so then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed. Those first two words, so then or therefore, are Paul's way of fastening this new paragraph to everything that he has just said. So he's not changing subjects. He's drawing a straight line from Christ's story to the church's life. And that and what has he just said before? So recall the great gospel hymn of Christ that we talked about last Sunday, the hymn of Christ's humility and exaltation in verses five to 11. A key word from that hymn reappears here in verse 12. In verse eight, Christ humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Now, Paul turns to the Philippians and says, so then, just as you have always obeyed, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And that repetition is deliberate. Paul is anchoring their obedience in Christ's obedience, showing that what he calls for is not a self-salvation, but gospel-shaped faithfulness that flows from the belonging to the obedient son. So Paul is saying, in view of the Lord's perfect humility and obedience, obedience that held steady under the most extreme pressure, and in view of the Father's vindication and exaltation of the Son, presses on the same posture. That therefore, verse 12 is the bridge of adoration to imitation. From worshiping Christ's descent to walking in humility and steadfastness, his grace produces in his people. And he speaks with a pastoral warmth here. He says, my beloved, and he's not driving them with harsh demands. He is gently shepherding them forward with the kind of encouragement that strengthens weary hearts. The Christ who stooped for you is the Christ who now steadies you. So that obedience becomes the livid response of a church learning to think and walk in Christ. So now look carefully at verse 13. Notice the little word that begins the sentence. For. See, that conjunction matters. Paul's for gives us the ground. It explains how he can possibly say what he has just commanded in verse 12. So in 2.13 he writes, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. So Paul is not canceling human responsibility. He has just given us a clear weighty command. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. But now he pulls back the curtain and shows us what is happening underneath that obedience. He's saying in effect, let me tell you why this is even possible. Because behind your working stands God working. See, you are not left to grind this out alone or on your own. As though you were stranded on an island running an individual race with no help and no hope. The One at work in you, Paul says, is God Himself. Notice how specific he is. God is at work in you both to will and to work. So in other words, He is the One shaping your desires and strengthening your actions. You see, He grants the will and He supplies the power so that your obedience is real. Your effort is required, but the ultimate source and sufficiently are entirely His. So the exhortation to work out one's salvation with fear and trembling is left to stand on its own. I'm sorry, if left to stand on its own would indeed be a word of condemnation to the Philippians. Not a word of encouragement to continue living in a way consistent with the Gospel, which results from embracing the attitude of Jesus. But this exhortation to work out our salvation does not stand alone. It comes in a particular context. You see, the Philippians are to stand firm in Paul's absence. And it's followed by a reminder that salvation is God's work within us in the sense that the desires to work out our salvation and the fear of God is a fruit of His work already began in us. Or within us. So as John Calvin wisely reminds us, there is a will or desire to do something which we may have, and the power to do these things which we do not have. Therefore, we must have nothing to boast about. But as Calvin adds, a good will is accomplished in us entirely by God and God alone. So Paul now turns to what that obedience looks like. in the ordinary and often difficult rhythms of life. Look with me at verse 14. He says, do all things without grumbling or disputing. So Paul goes straight for the tongue and beneath that for the heart. The language deliberately echoes Israel's willingness story. Where grumbling and complaining became their hallmark theme of unbelief. So instead of trusting the God who had redeemed them from Egypt, the people murmured against him and against his appointed servants. So Paul does not want the Philippian church so rich in gospel privilege to repeat Israel's pattern of complaint. So one commentator notes that Paul is not addressing some minor irritations, but the kind of chronic discontent and relational friction that can quietly hollow out a congregation's joy in unity. So verse 15 gives the purpose. That you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. So Paul is echoing here Deuteronomy 12. I'm sorry, Deuteronomy 32. Where Moses describes Israel's unfaithfulness as that of a crooked and twisted generation. Only here Paul applies the phrase to the surrounding world and calls the Philippians to live as faithful children of God in its midst. So the contrast is stark. A grumbling, twisted world on one side, a grateful, blameless people on the other. And it's precisely in that contrast that their witness shines. Among whom you shine as lights in the world. And that imagery draws from Daniel 12.3. Where the wise shine like the brightness of the sky and like the stars forever and ever. See the Philippian believers are to be like that. Points of steady, quiet light in a dark sky. Not because they are impressive in themselves, but because God, because the God who works in them is displaying his character through their conduct. So verse 16 shows what makes that light truly distinct. Which says holding fast or holding forth the word of life. So this phrase can mean both clinging to the gospel and offering it to others. And in context both of these ideas fit. See the church shines as it refuses to let go of the world. They gave it life and extends that life giving word to a watching world. As Dennis Johnson puts it, believers shine not by drawing attention to themselves, but by holding out the gospel as a lamp in the darkness. So that their integrity and their message reinforce one another. For Paul, you see this has deeply personal dimension here. He longs to be able to look back in the day of Christ and see that his race among them was not run in vain. That the seed he sowed was born fruit and persevering, joy-filled obedience. Notice verse 17. 17-18 with me. Paul says, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoiced with you all. So he reaches for sacrificial imagery from the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the drink offering was not the main sacrifice. It was a smaller libation poured out on top completing and honoring the primary offering. See, Paul sees the Philippians' faith and obedience as the main sacrifice. The sacrificial offering to God. So his own suffering, even the possibility of martyrdom, would simply be the wine poured out on their suffering. That is how he views his life. Gladly expended to adorn and complete the worship of God's people. And remarkably, his tone is not grim, but joyful. He says, I am glad and I rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. Suffering for Christ far from canceling joy becomes a shared participation in it. Stephen Lawson notes that Paul's imagery here shows how deeply he has embraced the downward path of Christ's own humility. He's willing not merely to labor for the faith, but to be poured out for it. And he invites the Philippians to see this is not a tragedy, but as a privilege. He brings this section to a full circle. The God who works in us, verse 13, calls us to a life without grumbling. Shining in a dark world. And rejoicing even when obedience costs us dearly. It is the pattern of Christ. Humble and sacrificial. So how do these verses land? How do they land on us? Paul calls to work out your own salvation. And to live without grumbling or disputing means that everyday areas of our lives become the stage where God's grace is put on display. The way you and I respond when things are inconvenient. The way you speak when you're tired or mistreated. The way you handle disappointment or delay. These either dim or brighten your witness as a child of God in a dark world. Yet, none of this is meant to drive you into despair. The same God who commands you is the God who is powerfully at work in you and within you. Shaping your desires and supplying your strength. As you yield to Him, you hold fast to the Word of Life. And your life becomes like Paul's. A joyful offering poured out in worship. Not a grim duty carried out in your own power. So having painted this picture, Paul now helps the Philippians to see what this looks like in flesh and blood. He moves from exhortation to example. So instead of merely saying, live this way, he says, in effect, let me show you people who are living this way. And the first is Timothy. A warm-hearted servant whose concern for others proven to be true.

So, as we continue through this letter together, Paul has already shown us what gospel-shaped love looks like. So, just to kind of give you a recap, in chapter 1, we watched it overflow in Paul's prayers and anchor his joy in suffering and fuel his partnership with the church. But now, as we step into chapter 2, Paul lifts our eyes even higher. He moves from his example of humility and love to this supreme example of Christ himself. Everything he has been urging the Philippian church toward finds its perfect expression in Christ Jesus alone. So Paul wants us to see that the unity and the humility and self-giving love that he commands do not come from sheer effort or personality. They come from beholding Christ. They flow from having the mind of Christ formed in us by his grace. So, when we step into Philippians 2, we find ourselves in one of the most breathtaking sections of the New Testament. The hymn that follows has captivated the minds and hearts of believers for centuries, and rightly so. In just a handful of verses, Paul carries us from the eternal glory of the Son existing in the very form of God, down into the humility of his incarnation, where he willingly takes on the form of a servant. And from there, we descend all the way to the shame and agony of the cross, only to be lifted with him again as he is exalted above every name in heaven and on earth. So this is our Savior. This is Christ. This is the one we worship. John Calvin reminds us that if we can read this passage and fail to behold the deity of Christ and the radiant majesty of God displayed in his saving work, then we are, in his words, blind to the things of God. So in other words, Philippians 2 is meant to open our eyes. It calls us to see Jesus as he truly is. Fully God, fully Savior, and worthy of all our worship. So we're in chapter 2, we'll be doing verses 1-11 again. Chapter 2, verses 1-11. So there's, again, three points that I want you to see. Verses 1-2, the appeal, verses 3-4, the command, and verses 5-11, the pattern. So let's begin with The Appeal, verses 1-2. Paul says, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy of being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." So look closely at how Paul opens chapter 2. He begins with an if-then appeal. Not because he's doubting anything, but because he is shepherding hearts here. He's saying, in effect, if these comforts are truly yours in Christ, and they are, then let them shape the way you live in love. That is why he states so tenderly in verse 1. "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy," see Paul is gathering the sweetest realities of the Christian life and setting them right before the church. Like a pastor placing warm hands on weary shoulders. So as the ESV Study Bible notes, these if-clauses function more like sense statements. So Paul is appealing to blessings they already possess in Christ, not possibilities that might one day attain. If you are in Christ, you have these realities. That's what he's saying. Our union does not reflect future possibilities, but they are now realities. So and each phrase is loaded with comfort. Do you see that? Even those two simple words, in Christ, are meant to steady you. This is one of Paul's dearest ways to describe a believer because it tells you where your life is anchored. To be in Christ means you are not left to carry yourself. You're not defined by your failures, your fears, or your weakness. You're not defined by your sin. You are not defined by anything but Christ. You are joined to him. His victory is counted as your victory. His death has broken sin's rule and power over you. His resurrection has brought you into new life. And God has taken out the heart of stone within us and given us a heart of flesh. He's began a real work in you, and it's not a fragile one. And the day is coming when what you now possess by faith will be yours by sight. You will share fully in the glory of the new heavens and the new earth. Martin Lloyd-Jones helpfully reminds us that Paul always begins with what God has done for us in Christ before he turns to what we must do toward one another. So when Paul says, in Christ, he's not giving you a theological label. He's giving you a place to rest. He's comforting you, or he's reminding you that every blessing of salvation, every encouragement, every comfort that we have, every help of the Spirit, every tender mercy from God comes to you through Christ. And it's meant to shape you, not only in private faith, but in public love. This is where Paul is leading, from gospel comforts received to gospel shapes lives lived. So notice how Paul assumes the Christian life is lived inside a real personal relationship with a triune God. In Philippians 2:1, he speaks of encouragement in Christ and participation in the Spirit. Do you see the trinity there, how triune that is? And the comfort of love most naturally points to the Father's love. Paul thinks this way elsewhere too. Recall 2 Corinthians with a distinctly Trinitarian blessing, 2 Corinthians 13:14, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." So taken together, these texts reveal a Trinitarian pattern, the Son who encourages, the Father who loves, and the Spirit who creates fellowship. It's a Trinitarian work. So Paul is calling the church to live out that reality. We are to live that reality. In God, there is encouragement, love, and fellowship because we have been brought near by Christ's blood. We are to live as citizens of His kingdom from the inside out. The more we consciously draw on these divine resources, the more we will be able to embody the unity, shared love, and the like-mindedness that Paul pleads in verse 2. So let's look at verse 2. He says, "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." Paul's appeal comes as four tightly woven calls, a single plea for unity expressed in four phrases. So Paul's theme is plain, love and unity. But notice the warmth in it. See, this is not merely a command to obey. It's a joy to pursue it. Paul says this unity would complete his joy. So in other words... He's not barking out orders at them. He's pleading to them like a father in the faith, longing to see the family walk together in peace and in unity. And it's not only right, it's beautiful. Psalm 133, "behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity." And we need to hear this in our own day. Division and distance in the church have become so common that we can't forget how much they grieve the Lord. God does not save us into a lonely faith. He gathers us into a family. One commentator reminds us that if we are saints in Jesus Christ, our lives have been supernaturally and extremely woven, interwoven. In other words, unity is not a necessary accessory to the Christian life. It's part of what the gospel produces and part of what we must guard. So why does Paul press this so strongly in this passage? See, it's more than a pastor's concern for his spiritual children. Paul knows that unity is one of the clearest evidence of Christ's power before a watching world. Jesus said in John 13:35, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." See disunity tarnishes Christ's name. It makes it seem as though he changes nothing. They fight like everyone else. Why should I listen? See beloved, may this not be so with us. May we not tarnish the name of Christ, but we show the watching world our unity and our love towards one another. So that is why scripture speaks with such an urgency. Ephesians 4, "I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There's one body and one spirit. Just as you recalled to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is overall through all in all." See this unity is not something we manufacture. It is something Christ has purchased and we are called to guard it with humility, patience and love. Since pride is the fastest way to fracture this unity, Paul now goes straight for the heart in verses three through four. So with unity set before us in verses one through two, Paul now shows what guards it in everyday life. Humility over self-interest and a steady concern for others. So let's look at The Command in verses 3-4. "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others." So Paul moves from talking about the foundation we share in Christ in verses one through two to encouraging humility in verses three through four. He tells them, "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself." In other words, Paul is going after the inner motive before he talks about outward action. If the church is going to walk in one mind and one love, then they cannot be driven by self motive. See this is the opposite of what Paul had already seen in Rome. Recall some were preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry. They were seeing Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to elevate themselves. And it was the opposite of what threatened the Philippians as well. And Christians are not to live with competitive spirit that uses people as stepping stones or treats ministry as a platform. But we're not called to use each other as Christians. In plain terms, selfish ambition is the urge to advance yourself, your name, your preferences, your advantage, even when it just disminishes others. But Paul's language reaches even deeper. The word carries the sense of working for self-gain, like a hired hand in this context. It leans toward vanity, empty glory, the craving to be noticed. That's exactly what these preachers were after. And Paul calls it out as a poison to the church's unity. It is the very opposite of the mind of Christ. So what is the antidote? Paul gives us two positive commands. First, in humility count others more significant than yourself. The word for humility here is not a false modesty. It's not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. It's a true assessment of your own standing before God and others. And the second command is a practical outworking of the first. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. See, this is not a call to neglect your own needs. It's a call to expand your vision. The Christian life is not lived in a vacuum. It's lived in community. And the humble person is not self-absorbed. They are others-absorbed. They are actively seeking the good of their brother and sister. And this is the daily work of unity. It's the quiet, unseen choice to prefer another, to listen to another, to serve another, to let go of the need to be right, to let go of the need to win. This is where unity is either guarded or eroded in countless small choices to die to self. We are to die to ourself and to count others more significant. So the pattern in verses five through 11 anchors all of this in Christ Himself. And the mind that we are called to have is the mind we already share in Christ Jesus. So let's look at The Pattern, verses 5-11. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. 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 earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." The one who had every right to cling to glory chose and said to empty Himself and take the form of a servant and obey to the point of death, even death on the cross. That means no act of humble obedience, God ask of you will ever take you lower than Christ has already gone for you. Whatever He calls you to stoop, to forgive, to reconcile, to serve quietly, He has stooped further and He goes with you. And the way down is not a dead end. The pattern of the Christian life follows the pattern of Christ. And it's costly obedience now and glory later. You may be misunderstood, overlooked, or taken advantage of, but the God who exalted His Son will not forget His children. He will complete what He has begun. So the expression, in the form of God, is not casual wording on Paul's part. It is a clear and careful chosen statement of doctrine. This is a clear affirmation of Jesus' deity and preexistence. Before creation, before time, before the Son took to himself a true human nature in the womb of the Virgin, he already shared the Father's glory within the life of the triune God. Hebrews speaks of this way, calling him "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." See the Jesus that stoops in humanity is the very one who shares God's glory and sustains all things. So when he descends, we are meant to tremble with wonder at how far he chose to come for us. You see, the suffering, shame, and humiliation of the incarnation must come before the exaltation described in the hymns' final verses, 9-11. "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 earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." See because the Son willingly descended because he took the form of a servant, he obeyed to the point of death, even death on the cross, therefore God has highly exalted him. You see, the Father responds to the Son's humiliation with exaltation. The one who stooped so low for us and for our salvation is the very one whom God has now publicly lifted up, confirming by his resurrection and his ascension the rights and titles and privileges that were his from all eternity, but are now openly acknowledged in the light of his suffering and obedient self-giving. And the ESV Study Bible rightly notes that this exaltation does not grant Jesus a status he previously lacked. It proclaims and vindicates the status that already belonged to him as the eternal Son. So Paul goes further, "God has bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." See here, Paul is not simply saying that Jesus is important or influential, he is locating Jesus with the very identity and worship of the one triune God. And he does this by deliberately echoing Isaiah 45, one of the clearest Old Testament declarations of God's absolute uniqueness, where the Lord declares, "to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear allegiance." And any faithful Jew in Paul's day would have gladly affirmed that homage belongs to Yahweh alone. But Paul does something staggering. He takes that language of exclusive divine worship and applies it directly to Jesus. Stephen Lawson notes that Paul writing from prison under accusation does not soften his Christology. strengthens it. The God who says, "to me every knee shall bow" is the same God before whom every knee will bow at the name of Jesus Christ. So when you hear these words, every knee and every tongue, you are hearing more than poetry. You're hearing Paul's pastoral courage. See in prison and under accusation, he anchors the church in the strongest possible truth. The crucified Christ is the Lord of Isaiah's vision, and that means his humiliation was not a detour from glory. It was the path into glory. So in other words, in this hymn, this hymn is not simply a beautiful poem about humility. It is a clear and resounding declaration that Jesus is truly God. The one who went down to the cross is the one before whom every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth will one day bow to. Every knee and every tongue includes joyful worshipers and defeated enemies, angels and demons, kings and commoners, all acknowledging willingly and unwillingly that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And this universal confession does not compete with the Father's glory. It fulfills it. When every tongue confesses Jesus as Lord, it is to the glory of God the Father. The Father is glorified precisely in the honoring of the Son whom he sent and exalted. So seen in this context of Paul's imprisonment, this is deeply pastoral. Remember, he's in chains because he proclaims the very Lordship of Christ. Opponents may accuse him of blasphemy. Rome may treat him as disposable. And even some preachers may envy him for his influence, but none of that alters the reality he holds out to the Philippians. The crucified Christ is the Lord of Isaiah's vision. His humiliation was not a detour from glory. It was the divinely appointed path to glory. This is why Paul can rejoice in prison and call the church to humble and cast the obedience. The story does not end at the cross, it ends at the throne. And beloved, this is meant to leave us both humble and hopeful. Humble because the one before whom every knee will bow is the one who went lower than we will ever be asked to go. It's to leave us hopeful because the path that he walked down into costly obedience and then up into glory is now the pattern God uses in our life and the life of his people. You and I are not saving anyone by our humility, but we are following in the footsteps of the one who saved us by his. So when Paul goes on to say, "therefore, my beloved, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," he's not shifting topics. He's drawing the invocation in the light of Christ, his humiliation and his exaltation. This is what your life must look like now. You are to live out what he has already worked in, to put into practice the mind that he's given you, to walk the downward road of love, resting in the confidence that the God who has exalted his son will also sustain you and keep you to the end. And this is meant to do more than move our minds and stir our affections also. It is meant to reshape our lives. If this is who Christ is and this is the path that he walked for us, then Philippians 2:1-11 cannot remain merely a passage that you and I admire from a distance. It must become the pattern that we live out. So the question before us is, how is the mind, or how should the mind of Christ and his humility, his self-giving love, his obedience unto death actually show up in our attitudes, our relationships, our service? our life together as a church. So with that in view, let's turn from exposition to application. After I get a drink. So, taking seriously, this should reshape how we see ourselves in one another. To really know our identity and union in Christ. See, Paul's appeal in verses one through two reminds us that the Christian life is not powered by our own resources, but by encouragement, comfort, and love, and fellowship we already have in Christ. Our starting point is not guilt, but grace. A church that remembers it is love and comforted and carried by the triune God will move toward unity and not away from it. And we are to find ourselves withdrawing, if we are to find ourselves from withdrawing in nursing resentment or assuming the worst of others, this passage calls us back to the fountain. Encouraged in Christ, comforted by his love, sharing in his spirit and extending that same posture to brothers and sisters. And Paul's command in verses three through four then brings that grace down into the daily details of our relationship. "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, count others more significant, look to the interest of others." You see, this confronts all the subtle ways we put ourselves at the center. Selfish ambition and empty glory show up in the need to be noticed and to be right. So we must ask, where am I driven more by my own advancement than by love? Whose interests do I never seriously consider? Obedience here is usually very ordinary, right? Listening more than speaking, listening more than speaking, rejoicing when God uses someone else, serving where no one applauds you, letting go of the need to win. This is where unity is either guarded or eroded in countless small choices to die to self. We are to die to ourself and to count others more significant. So the pattern in verses five through 11 anchors all of this in Christ Himself. And the mind that we are called to have is the mind we already share in Christ Jesus. The one who had every right to cling to glory chose and said to empty Himself and take the form of a servant and obey to the point of death, even death on the cross. That means no act of humble obedience, God ask of you will ever take you lower than Christ has already gone for you. Whatever He calls you to stoop, to forgive, to reconcile, to serve quietly, He has stooped further and He goes with you. And the way down is not a dead end. The pattern of the Christian life follows the pattern of Christ. And it's costly obedience now and glory later. You may be misunderstood, overlooked, or taken advantage of, but the God who exalted His Son will not forget His children. He will complete what He has begun. So Philippians 2 presses very concrete question upon us. Where do you need to pursue unity rather than maintain distance? Where is God calling you to confess pride, to stop clinging to your own way or to move towards someone you have avoided? Above all, will you keep your eyes fixed to Christ and letting His descent and exaltation shape how we think and what you value and how you treat one another? Beloved, the more that you and I behold Him, the more we will resemble Him. And the more our shared life will quietly proclaim to watching world that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Would you pray with me?

As weve seen in Philippians 1:1-11, Paul begins this letter by reminding the church who they are and how deeply he loves them. They are saints in Christ Jesus at Philippiset apart by God, bound together in a rich gospel partnership, and carried along by a God who always finishes the good work He begins. Pauls heart overflows with gratitude for them, and his prayer is that their love would abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that they might approve what is excellent, live pure and blameless lives, and be filled with the fruit of righteousness to the glory and praise of God. Now, beginning in verse 12, Paul turns from his prayer for them to his own situation, showing how God is advancing that very same gospel through his chains, shaping his view of life and death, and calling the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel in the midst of their own opposition. The Gospel Advances (vv. 1218) To Live Is Christ (vv. 1926) Live Worthy of the Gospel (vv. 2730) The Gospel Advances (vv. 1218) 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, Here, Paul begins an extended discussionrunning through verse 26in which he explains his current situation. It is the most detailed account of his personal circumstances in his letters. Paul is writing as a prisoner in Rome under house arrest: confined to rented quarters, likely chained to a Roman guard, yet not silenced. As Acts 28:3031 describes it, he remained there for two years, receiving all who came to him and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with full freedom and without hindrance. Those are the circumstances Paul has in mind when he says that what has happened to him has actually served to advance the gospel. The Philippians already know Paul is imprisoned. They know he is suffering, they know he has needs, and they have responded with tangible support through their gift. So Paul is not writing here to fill in the details of his case or to speculate about how it might turn out. Instead, he says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. In other words, Paul looks at his confinementand even the rival preachers he will soon mentionand he is not discouraged. He is genuinely encouraged, even astonished. Dont be anxious about me, he is saying. Look at what God is doing. The gospel is moving forward. God has sovereignly ordered all things through Jesus Christ so that everything unfolds according to His willeven the hard, confusing, and painful parts. Throughout Pauls ministry, his arrests were often the result of gospel preaching that stirred opposition in city after city. Yet in this passage, Paul makes it clear that his imprisonment is not an accident or a setback; it is precisely what God has appointed for the further advancement of the gospel. As we noted last week, God is wholly responsible for our salvation, and yet He ordinarily accomplishes His purposes through appointed means. So why did Paul end up in prison? Ultimately, because God ordained it. And instrumentally, because opponentsparticularly those offended by Pauls messagemoved against him. Scripture is full of examples of God accomplishing His purposes through the very means others intend for harm. Consider Joseph: his brothers committed real wickedness by selling him into slavery, yet God raised him up in Egypt to preserve many livesincluding the family through whom His promises would continue (Gen. 50:20). Israels move to Egypt was not merely survival; it was providence preparing the way for redemption. And Joseph says it plainly: You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. In the same way, God can bend what others intend for harm toward His wise and saving purposeswithout approving the evil itself. The Philippians needed to observe Paul and learn what true faithfulness in suffering entails. Here is their father in the faith, facing persecution, yet responding in a way that glorifies the Lord and keeps joy alive in the heart. Paul not only tells them what to pray in 1:9-11; he shows them how to think. His joyful outlook in chains becomes a living example of how believers should assess their trialsnot by appearances, but by what God is doing through them.1 In verse 13, Paul explains what he means by the gospels advance: What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospelso that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. His chains have made one thing unmistakably clearhe is not suffering for a personal cause or a political agenda, but for Christ. His imprisonment has become a testimony that what is happening to him is bound up with the honor and glory of Jesus, and that his hardship is being used in the service of Christs name. In other words, the soldiers assigned to guard himelite troops serving the Roman Empirecame to understand that Paul was not a typical criminal or political agitator. He was suffering because of his allegiance to the true King, Jesus Christ. As members of the imperial guard rotated through their duty, many spent hours chained to Paul. Few could imagine a more direct captive audience for gospel witness. The gospels reach did not end with the guard on duty. Even when Paul was not addressing them directly, the soldiers would have overheard his constant conversations with visitors and fellow believersagain and again, the message of Christ and the reason for his chainsuntil the news permeated the entire guard, men of real influence in the worlds most powerful empire. Pauls point is plain: opposition may bind the messenger, but it cannot bind the message. In fact, Pauls imprisonment did not suspend his calling or hinder his usefulness; it became one of the instruments God used to carry out His work in Paul and through Paul, strengthening the church that loved him. The irony is striking: Rome stationed soldiers to confine the apostle, but God stationed those same soldiers to hear the gospel; the empire believed it was restraining a prisoner, yet God was using that confinement to carry the good news of Christ into places no one would have expected it to goproving that no circumstance is wasted and nothing can stop the gospel. Beloved, this is the heart of verse 13. Paul is not suffering because he is foolish, reckless, or criminal. He is suffering because of loyaltyallegiance to Jesus as Lord. That phrase for Christ is what converts pain into meaning. Pauls chains teach the church that suffering can be interpreted as a witness, not merely endured as an inconvenience. Although Paul is writing these words from prison, and although he warns the Philippians that they too will face opposition and suffer for the gospel, the dominant note of this passage is triumph. It is a triumph because Pauls chains have opened doors for the gospel, so that the message has reached the imperial guard and spread widely throughout Rome (1:1213). It is a triumph because Pauls imprisonment has emboldened other believers in Rome to speak the word with greater courage (1:14). It is even a triumph when Christ is preached by those with impure intentions (1:15), because while their motives are corrupt, the gospel they proclaim remains true. Notice verse 14: And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. The gospel was not only advancing through Pauls witness to the imperial guard; his suffering itself became a catalyst for greater boldness among the believers in Rome. Seeing Paul endure hardship faithfully strengthened their confidence in the Lord and stirred them to preach Christ with renewed courage, unconcerned about the cost. As one commentator insightfully observed, The chains that restricted Paul set others free to proclaim the word of God without fear.2 Pauls chains did something remarkablethey stirred courage in others. Believers who once hesitated now spoke the word of God without fear. And that tells us something important: these brothers and sisters feared God more than they feared the threats around them. Which leads us, gently but honestly, to ask: whom do you fear? Are you more afraid of peoples opinions than of missing an opportunity to honor Christ? Do you, as I often do, feel the pull to remain respectable, safe, unnoticed? Paul had long laid that burden down. He became a fool for Christ because he cared more for souls than for status, more for the gospel than for public approval. Beloved, my prayer is that Christ would be so near to your heartso real, so precious that fear of man would lose its grip. That His presence would give you the quiet courage to speak, to love, to stand, even when it costs you something. And if you hear this and feel the sting of regretif you remember moments when fear silenced you, or even times when your actions resembled Peters denialtake hope. Peters failure was not final. The Lord restored him, strengthened him, and used him mightily. He will do the same for you. Grace does not leave us where it finds us; it leads us back to faithful obedience. So let us rise again in the strength Christ supplies, renewed in courage, and willing to be used for His glory. In Philippians 1:1518, Paul makes it clear that not everyone engaged in preaching Christ is driven by the right kind of heart. He writes, Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. He is not, in this passage, dealing with false gospels or heresythat receives his strongest condemnation elsewhere (Gal. 1:8 9). Here, the message itself is sound; it is the motives that are mixed. On one side are those who understand that Paul has been put here for the defense of the gospel. Out of genuine love and goodwill, they stand with him by proclaiming Christ boldly while he is in chains. On the other side are those who look at Paul as competition. They are driven by jealousy and selfish ambition, seizing on his imprisonment as an opportunity to elevate themselves, thinking to afflict him by increasing their own influence while he is sidelined. What is most striking is how Paul responds to this. He asks, What then? and answers, Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. Paul does not excuse or ignore the sin of selfish ambition, and he does not suggest that motives are unimportant in the eyes of God. But he refuses to let the flawed hearts of others dictate his own joy. His deepest concern is not the guarding of his own reputation, prominence, or comfort; it is that the real Christ is being made known. As long as the true gospel is going forth, he can genuinely rejoiceeven when some who preach it are trying to harm him. This both challenges and comforts us pastorally. It confronts the temptation toward envy and rivalry in ministry, calling us to examine our motives. And it frees us to entrust the hearts of others to God, to rejoice wherever Christ is faithfully proclaimed, and to begin to share Pauls Christ-centered perspective that will soon be summed up in the words, To live is Christ (v. 21). Paul has shown us how God is using his chains to advance the gospelChrist is being preached, and that is Pauls joy, regardless of peoples motives. Now he turns to what the gospel is doing in him. In verses 1926, Paul reveals his own heart and shares the perspective that sustains him in prison: whether he lives or dies, his primary concern is that Christ will be honored in his body. To Live Is Christ (vv. 1926) 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Verses 1926 carry forward the same central theme: Pauls entire ministryand even his imprisonmentis governed by the gospel of Christ. Verse 18 functions as a pivot point, linking his present joy in chains because the gospel is advancing to his settled confidence and future joy as he anticipates his upcoming trial and its outcome. Notice the movement in verse 18 from present to future: What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. Paul explains why his joy will continue: he is confident that God will bring about his deliverance. When we hear that word, we instinctively think the same way the Philippians likely didwe assume Paul is talking about a physical outcome, release from imprisonment. That expectation makes sense, especially since in verse 25 he says, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith. Paul evidently believed there was a real possibility that God would answer the churchs prayers and grant him freedom. He is not limiting his hope to the outcome of a court case. He is anchoring his confidence in something larger than the chains on his wrists: the certainty of Gods saving purpose and his ultimate destiny in Christ. Whatever happens in Rome, Paul knows where the story endswith Christ, and with God completing the work He began. Pauls deliverance is bigger than a courtroom outcome. He is not saying, I know Ill be released. He is saying, I know God will carry me through. And the clearest proof is what he wants mostnot comfort, not control, not even certainty, but Christ honored. That is why he speaks the way he does in verse 20: his eager expectation and hope is that he will not be ashamed, but will have the kind of courage that makes Jesus look great, whether by life or by death. So here is the question Paul quietly presses into our hearts: What would it look like for Christ to be honored in your body right now? Not just in your intentions, but in your actual, embodied lifeyour words, your patience, your choices, your steadiness under pressure. Paul is showing us that the gospel does not merely help you survive hardship; it gives you a holy ambition inside hardship: Lord, whatever You decide, let my life make much of You. This is where Pauls echo of Job is so illuminating. Job, afflicted in his circumstances and further wounded by misguided counsel, said: This will be my salvation (Job 13:16). He was not merely longing to escape his immediate pain; he was looking beyond it to final vindication and ultimate deliverance. Pauls wording echoes that same confidence. Like Job, Paul cannot control the circumstances, but he can rest in the certainty that God will preserve him to the end.3 That confidence produces one of the most famous lines Paul ever wrote: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (v. 21). If he lives, Christ is his purposehis whole life is fruitful labor for the church (v. 22). If he dies, Christ is his rewardhe departs to be with Christ, which is far better (v. 23). Paul is not romanticizing death, nor is he despairing of life. He is Christ-saturated. Christ is the meaning of living, and Christ is the treasure beyond dying. Life is victory because we belong to Christ and are privileged to serve His purposes. Death is victory because it brings us immediately into His presence. And Paul can be sure Christ will be magnified even by death because he can say, with equal clarity, to die is gain. Death does not steal Pauls treasure; it delivers him into the presence of his treasure.4If Christ is more valuable than life in this world, then dying cannot be an ultimate loss. It becomes gain, not because death is pleasant, but because death brings the believer into fuller communion with Christ. When a Christian faces death with steady hopepreferring Christ above continued earthly lifeChrist is displayed as supremely precious. The world can understand a person who clings to life at all costs. What it cannot explain is a person who can sincerely say, Christ is better. This is why verse 21 is so decisive for magnifying Christ. If our aim is to worship Christ, spread His fame, and display His worth, then the question is not merely, How do I avoid suffering? or How do I preserve comfort? The question becomes: What do I value most? Christ is magnified in our bodies when our lives showpractically, visibly, consistentlythat Christ is our highest good. In life, we magnify Him by living for His will rather than our ownby treating obedience as privilege and service as worship. In death, we magnify Him by meeting our final enemy with a settled confidence that being with Christ is better than remaining here. In both cases, the magnification occurs in the same way: Christ is seen as great because He is treasured as such.5 Church, isnt it a comfort to know that present troubles never have the final word? God delivers, and He always brings His peoples story to a glorious end. Pauls confidence ought to become a steady confession on our lips when we feel pressed in on every side: I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my redemption. If the Lord can even use Roman chains to accomplish His good purposes, then none of our trials fall outside His wise control. And like Paul, we can rest not in the assumption that God will always remove our hardships, but in the certainty that He will surely bring us through one way or another. In verses 2425, Paul explains why remaining alive is more necessary for the Philippians: his life is still useful for their spiritual good. Though he longs to depart and be with Christ, he is persuaded that continued ministry among them will serve their progress and joy in the faith. In other words, Paul views his possible release not as a personal victory, but as Gods provision for the churchso that their faith would mature, their stability would deepen, and their joy would be strengthened in Christ. Then in verse 26, Paul clarifies the ultimate purpose of his continued presence: not that the Philippians would boast in Paul, but that their confidence and celebration would overflow in Christ Jesus. If God grants his return, it will furnish them with fresh reason to glory in Christbecause Pauls preservation and renewed fellowship with them would be another clear evidence of Christs faithful care for His people and His ongoing work among them.6 Notice what Pauls Christ-centered perspective does to his heart: it doesnt cool his love for peopleit warms it. The same man who says, I long to depart and be with Christ, can also say, but to remain is more necessary for you. That is what grace does. When Christ becomes your life, you dont become less human, less tender, or less involvedyou become more loving, because you no longer need others to hold you up. You are finally free to give yourself away. So Paul can pivot naturally into verse 27: Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. He has just shown them what gospel-shaped living looks like in chains: courage without shame, joy without control, love without self-preservation. Now he turns and says, in effect, Let that same gospel shape your life together. If the gospel can steady a man facing Caesar, it can steady a church facing opposition. And if Christ is worthy of being magnified in my imprisonment, He is worthy of being honored in your unity, your courage, and your steadfastness. Live Worthy of the Gospel (vv. 2730) 27 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, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Paul begins by telling the Philippians that they must live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Only is Pauls way of saying, Make this your non-negotiable. Live in a way that matches the gospel you claim to believe. There is no room here for a divided lifeone version of you on Sunday and another the rest of the week. The gospel you have embraced must shape the way you speak, the way you decide, the way you treat people, and the way you endure hardship. You came into Christs kingdom by surrendering to Jesus as Lord, and that same surrender is meant to define how you live now. When Paul says, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, he is giving a headline that summarizes the whole Christian life. The verb he uses conveys the sense of living like a citizenordering ones life according to the values and laws of the realm to which one belongs. And Paul chooses that language deliberately because Philippi understood citizenship. They took pride in their status as Romans; Paul reminds them that their truest citizenship is higher. They live in a Roman colony, but they belong to a heavenly kingdom. So their daily conduct must reflect the gospel and the King they serve.7 Paul is not only calling for individual holiness herehe is calling the whole church to a public, corporate faithfulness that fits the gospel. The language is communal from the start: whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear He is picturing a congregation whose life together tells the truth about Christ, so that the churchs conduct does not contradict the churchs message.8 And notice the images Paul chooses. Standing firm is the language of a line that will not break. Striving side by side is the language of shared effortshoulder to shoulderpulling in the same direction for the faith of the gospel. Paul is pressing unity in gospel labor, not isolated spirituality.9 Next, Paul shows what gospel-worthy living looks like in the life of the church. Look at verse 27: standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. When pressure rises, the church doesnt scatter; it holds the line as one body. And it strives side by sidenot as competitors, not as isolated Christians doing our own thing, but as a family linked arm in arm for one cause: the faith of the gospel. This is active, corporate Christianitybelievers contending together for the gospel rather than drifting into private, isolated faith.9 The gospel is meant to be the center that holds us togetherstronger than preferences, stronger than personalities, stronger than whatever could divide us. Notice verse 28. Paul adds, not frightened in anything by your opponents. He is not denying that fear will be felt; he is insisting fear must not rule. He is describing a steadiness the Lord suppliesquiet courage, an unshaken presence, fidelity under pressure.10 And that steadiness becomes a sign. Paul is not teaching believers to boast over opponents; he is teaching them to interpret the moment spiritually. A fearless, unified church testifies that God is at workand that salvation is His work, not theirs.11 The Lord can steady your heart. The Lord can give His people courage. And when the church quietly holds its groundwithout panic, without compromisethat steadiness becomes a testimony. Its a sign that God is truly at work, that the gospel is true, and that the opposition will not have the last word. Look with me at verse 29: It has been granted to younot only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake. In other words, your trials are not random, and they are not proof that God has left you. Paul calls them a granta giftnot because pain is pleasant, but because the Lord uses it. Suffering ties you to Christ, and it ties you to His people, and it becomes a place where God strengthens faith, purifies love, and advances the gospel. So take heart, beloved: live in a way that fits the gospel, stand together, strive together, and when hardship comes, dont interpret it as abandonment interpret it through Christ. The God who gave you faith will also give you what you need to endure. And the same conflict means you are not alone in itthis is shared gospel faithfulness that the Lord uses to strengthen His people.9 Transition into Application Beloved, Paul has shown us a Christianity sturdy enough for prison cells and gentle enough to serve others. He rejoices because Christ is proclaimed, he rests because Christ is his life, and he exhorts because Christ is worth it. So lets move from what the text says to what the Lord is calling us to do. Application Philippians 1:12-30 gives us a steady way to live when life is unsteady. First, Paul teaches us to read our circumstances through the gospel: even chains cannot chain the Word. God is not stalled by setbacks, and He often advances the gospel through the very hardships we would avoid. So dont only ask, How do I get out of this? Ask, How can Christ be honored in this? Second, Paul re-centers everything with one confession: to live is Christ. Christ is not a part of your life; He is your life. That means suffering cannot ultimately ruin you, and success cannot ultimately define you, because your identity is secure in Him. So bring your fears, your plans, and your sense of control back under His lordship and say again, Jesus, You are enough. Finally, Paul applies it to the church: Only live worthy of the gospel. Stand firm together. Strive side by side. Dont be intimidated. And when suffering comes, dont interpret it as Gods abandonmentinterpret it through Christ. Receive His grace, rest in His promise, and walk in unity and courage, so that your life together shows the world that the gospel is true and Christ is worth it. End Notes Dennis E. Johnson, Philippians, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: PR Publishing, 2013). G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 75. Grant R. Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017). William Hendriksen, Exposition of Philippians, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1962), 76. John Piper, The Inner Essence of Worship, sermon, November 16, 1997, Desiring God, accessed January 6, 2026. Johnson, Philippians, on Phil. 1:2426. Steven J. Lawson, Philippians for You, ed. Carl Laferton, Gods Word for You (Epsom, UK: The Good Book Company, 2017). Lawson, on Phil. 1:27. Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, on Phil. 1:2730. Hansen, on Phil. 1:28. Johnson, on Phil. 1:2730.

Imagine receiving a letter from a dear friend who is in prison. You might expect a detailed description of the harsh conditions, the uncertainty of the trial, perhaps even notes of fear, frustration, or despair. Philippians is a letter from prisonbut when Paul writes to this little church in a Roman colony, the first words that pour out of him are not complaint, but thanksgiving, joy, and heartfelt prayer. In Philippians 1:111, we get to listen in as a man in chains calls ordinary believers saints, speaks words of grace and peace over them, thanks God for their gospel partnership, and prays that their love may abound more and more. To appreciate the weight of these opening verses, we need to remember what kind of letter this is and who is writing it. Philippians is one of Pauls warmest and most personal letters. Hes not writing to strangers; hes writing to people he lovespeople he knows, people whose stories he remembers. This is the church Paul helped plant in Philippi during his second missionary journey (Acts 16). Philippi was a proud Roman colonycitizenship mattered there, privilege mattered there. And Paul takes that familiar category and redirects it: Yes, you live in a Roman city, but you belong to a greater kingdom. Live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 1:27; 3:20). Now picture Paul as he writes: he is in chains, imprisoned in Romearound A.D. 62with Timothy at his side. And yet the tone is not cold or bitter; its affectionate. Hes writing to a largely Gentile church that has stood with him in gospel partnership from the first day until now. Their story began with dramatic conversionsLydia, the freed slave girl, the Philippian jailerand it began in the middle of real opposition. From the start, this church learned that following Christ often involves suffering, and Paul remains mindful of that shared struggle as he reminds them that it has been granted to them not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil. 1:2930).1 So when you read Philippians, hear it this way: its both a thank-you note and a pastoral charge. Paul thanks them for their generosity and support. He updates them on his imprisonment. And he wants them to knowvery clearlyhis chains are not stopping the mission. God is using them. The gospel is advancing even through prison doors. But Paul is also shepherding their hearts. He calls them to unity when pressure could divide them, to humility when pride could creep in, and to steadfast joy when circumstances tempt them to despair. He anchors everything in Jesus Himselfthe pattern of Christs humble descent and glorious exaltation (Phil. 2:511). Then he lifts their eyes beyond the present, urging them to press on toward the final hope resurrection life, heavenly citizenship, and the return of Christ (Phil. 3:714, 2021). And as Reformed commentators often emphasize, woven through all of this are the deep notes of grace, union with Christ, suffering, and perseveranceso that the church can rest in this confidence: the God who began His good work in them will surely bring it to completion (Phil. 1:6).2 These opening verses open a window into Pauls pastoral heart. Even before he addresses the churchs challenges, he steadies them with grace, anchors them with assurance, and shapes them with prayer. And the same God who was at work in Philippi is at work among us. So lets walk through the passage in three movements. Outline Pauls Greeting (vv. 1-2) Pauls Thanksgiving (vv. 3-8) Pauls Prayer (vv. 9-11) Pauls Greeting (vv. 1-2) Scripture: Philippians 1:1-2 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If youve spent any time reading the New Testament letters, Philippians 1:1-2 will sound familiar right away. In Pauls world, letters usually began the same way: the writer introduced himself, named who he was writing to, and offered a greeting. Paul follows that pattern herebut hes not just going through the motions. He takes this simple opening and turns it into a pastoral word. Even in these first lineshow he speaks of himself, how he addresses the church, and how he pronounces grace and peacePaul is already preparing our hearts for everything hes about to say. If youre wondering why Timothy appears in the opening line, its because he was closely involved with Paul in the planting of the Philippian church. Timothy wasnt a distant assistant; he had shared in the labor there and cared deeply about their spiritual welfare. When the believers in Philippi saw his name, they would have remembered his presence and pastoral concern. So this isnt something like a cold, formal co-signatureits two shepherds addressing a congregation they both genuinely love. The letter is addressed by both Paul and Timothy as co-senders, even though Paul is the primary author. Timothys presence with Paul is one of the reasons many believe this epistle was written during Pauls house arrest in Rome, where Timothy is known to have been with him. According to Acts 1618, Timothy had also been with Paul in Philippi when the gospel was first preached there. So, the Philippian believers not only knew Paul, but they also knew Timothy. Paul introduces himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesusa title he otherwise uses only in his letter to Titus. Already in verse 1, he is embodying what he will later command in 2:57laying aside status and embracing the lowly path of service under Christ. Apart from calling himself a prisoner in Philemon and using no title at all in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ in his other eight letters. In other words, this choice of title in Philippians is unusual and deliberate. Paul and Timothy identify themselves as bond-servants of Jesus Christ. In the Greco Roman world, slaves were viewed as their masters property with few rightsa vivid backdrop for the apostles use of redemption and slavery-to-Christ imagery. In Scriptures metaphor, that cruel tyrant is sin, and the purchase price securing our freedom is the shed blood of Jesus. When Paul and Timothy call themselves slaves of Christ, they are confessing a new ownership. In the eyes of the world, they may look weak and unimpressivebut they belong to a new Master. They have been chosen, purchased, and set apart by Jesus for His purposes. And Paul is doing more than signing his name; he is setting the tone for the whole letter. He wants the Philippians to adopt the same mindset: a willing servant, gladly devoted to the honor and will of Christ, regardless of the assignment. As the letter unfolds, Paul will point them to examples worth imitatinghimself, Timothy, Epaphroditusand ultimately Christ Himself, calling them into a humble, trusting posture under Gods providence in every circumstance. Then Paul addresses all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi. That word all matters. Even in the opening lines, Paul makes it clear: he is speaking to the entire church, not just a select few. And the word saints is not spiritual flatteryit is covenant language. It reaches back into the Old Testament, where God claimed a people for Himself (Ex. 19:56), and it carries into the New Testament church as Peter says, you are a holy nation (1 Pet. 2). Saints simply means holy onesthose set apart by God and for God. Not because they are naturally better, but because God is holy and He has laid claim to them: Be holy, for I am holy (Lev. 11:44). And that is why Scripture can speak of Gods people as His saintsHis treasured possession and His delight (Ps. 16:3; 34:9). Just as Israel was set apart to belong to God and to serve Him in truth, so the Church is set apart today. In the New Testament, the word saints is consistently used to refer to all believers in Christ Jesus, those whom God has claimed as His own possession. The title saint rests not on our perfection, but on Gods grace in setting us apart in Christ. They are saints not because of their own moral perfection but because they are in Christ Jesusunited to Him by faith, clothed in His righteousness, indwelt by His Spirit. Notice the double location: they are in Christ and at Philippi. They live in a real Roman colony with real pressures and problems, yet their deepest identity and security are found in Christ. Finally, Paul includes the overseers and deacons. This shows that the Philippian church is well-ordered, with recognized leaders who shepherd (overseers/elders) and serve practical needs (deacons). By naming them with the saints, not above them, he affirms both their legitimacy as the two primary offices of church leadership (in line with his qualifications in 1 Timothy) and their responsibility to lead the congregation toward the unified response he is calling for in this letter. Yet he mentions them with the saints, not above them. The whole churchordinary believers and officers togetherstands under Christ, belongs to Christ, and receives this letter as one body. Then comes the greeting: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul takes the conventional greeting of the ancient world and transforms it into a gospel blessing. Instead of the ordinary word for greeting, Paul uses a closely related word that means grace, turning a polite salutation into a theological pronouncement.3 This is the typical apostolic greeting, but grace and peace are far from empty Christian slogans when we grasp what they contain. Together, they represent every true good because they both point us directly to Christ Himself. John 1:17 declares, Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and Ephesians 2:14 tells us, He Himself is our peace. When Paul pronounces grace and peace, he is expressing nothing less than this desire: that his readers would enjoy every blessing that exists in Jesus Christ. Peace is a central theme in Pauls letters, appearing throughout his epistles as a shorthand reference to the believers restored relationship with God. This peace rests on the fact that Gods righteous wrath has been satisfied through the suffering of Jesus in our place. Yet it does not stop with vertical reconciliation. The same gospel that makes peace between God and sinners also creates peace among believersacross lines of class, ethnicity, and culturebecause all who are in Christ are united in one body. Christ alone stands as the mediator between God and humanity. Having reconciled us to the Father, He also reconciles us to each other. Those once orphaned by the world are now joined together as one body, one family, in Him. Grace and peace are gospel gifts that reach sinners only from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the architect of this great salvation, and the Son is the one who accomplished it.4 Beloved, taken together, these two great words, grace and peace, offer a complete answer to the deepest needs and profound emptiness of the human heart. Everything we most desperately require is contained in them: grace that raises us from spiritual death to new life, and peace that describes the rich, settled life we now possess through faith in Jesus Christ. These are not casual words or a polite formula Paul tacks on to open a letter. Far from itgrace and peace are the twin spiritual realities that Scripture as a whole, and Philippians in particular, holds out to us. This is why we need the message of Philippians: grace for our sin and peace for our troubled hearts; grace for our weaknesses and peace for our fears; grace for our spiritual poverty and peace in knowing that in Christ we are immeasurably rich. It is grace that has carried us to this point and grace that will lead us safely homeand peace that quiets the accusing conscience and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Everything we truly need is encompassed in these two gifts: grace and peace. This is what the gospel offers. This is what we receive in Jesus Christa complete remedy for the full brokenness of life under the curse of sin. Having spoken grace and peace over them, Paul now opens his heartshowing what gospel partnership produces in him: gratitude, joy, confidence, and deep affection. Lets look at Pauls thanksgiving verses 3-8. Pauls Thanksgiving (vv. 3-8) Scripture: Philippians 1:3-8 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 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. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. In verse 3, Paul begins to give thanks to God, with great pastoral affection for those to whom he is writing. These are not strangers to him; they are his spiritual children, and he is their father in the faith. That bond shapes everything that follows. Because of this warm, reciprocal relationship, Paul opens by declaring (vv. 35), I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Pauls gratitude is directed specifically to my God, not to some vague spiritual force or impersonal deity. He is deeply thankful for the Philippians and remembers them consistently in his prayers. For Paul, this is both a responsibility and a delight. He had been with them from the very beginning, and from that first day onward, they had faithfully supported him in his mission to carry the gospel to the Gentile world. Pauls relationship with the Philippians is what he calls a gospel partnership koinōnia (Phil. 1:5). This isnt mere familiarity or friendly affection; its a spiritual bond forged in shared devotion to Christ and tested over time. They have linked arms in the work of the gospel, and that shared mission runs like a thread through the whole letter. And Paul is clear: this gospel labor is not in vain. He is confident that the God who began this good work will bring it to completion on the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6). Even his imprisonment doesnt weaken that assurance (Phil. 1:7). Paul refuses to let appearances interpret realityGod is still at work, the gospel is still advancing, and their sacrifices are never in vain. And right here, early on, Paul is already sounding a note that will echo through the whole letter: salvation, from start to finish, is the gracious work of God. Paul rejoices over his brothers and sisters in Philippinot because his ultimate confidence rests in them, but because it rests in God. The same God who initiated His saving work in them will also carry that work forward and bring it to its appointed end on the day of Christ. This is profoundly significant: you did not begin this workGod did. And He will not leave its completion in your hands or dependent on your own strength. With absolute certainty, Paul can sayunder the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that God is the author of your salvation from its beginning to its final culmination. This is not a cooperative project where God does His part, and we do ours; it is what theologians call a monergistic workGod alone, by His Spirit, bringing life where there was death and carrying that work to completion. That is why he goes on to say, It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Because God has worked so powerfully in their hearts, Paul feels a deep and genuine affection for them. The Philippians have faithfully, hopefully, and steadfastly endured with him in the gospel. They are far more than contacts, acquaintances, financial supporters, or even ordinary friends. They are true partners and fellow sharers in his ministryand Pauls heart is deeply knit to them because of it, and he loves them for it. Paul is not trying to sound sentimental; he wants the Philippians to know his love is real. He says it is the very affection of Christ Jesus at work in himdeep, tender compassion from the innermost place. The word Paul chooses is especially strong; it speaks of heartfelt mercy, the kind that moves you from the inside out. Pauls point is this: what they are receiving from him is not just Pauls personalityit is Christs love expressed through Paul.5 Can you hear his pastoral heart? He wants them to be assured of it, to feel it, to know how deeply he cares and how strongly he longs to be with them. And that kind of love doesnt stop with Paul. The gospel calls us beyond mere tolerance. Christian love means we actively seek the good of our brothers and sisters. We dont simply put up with one anotherwe care, we welcome, we learn, we rejoice, and we open our hearts wider to include all who belong to Christ, even those we have not yet met. As James Montgomery Boice observed, true Christian community expands outward because our union with Christ binds us together. And the Apostle Paul reminds us that without this kind of love, doctrinal precision and spiritual activity are of no value. Without love, we are just noiseempty, hollow, and spiritually ineffective (1 Corinthians 13:1).6 Who are the fellow laborers God has placed in your lifethose with whom you share true fellowship by serving side by side in the work of the gospel? Where, specifically, are you investing your time, your gifts, your prayers, and your resources for Christs mission? If we neglect to cultivate gospel partnershipswithin our own congregation and with faithful churches and ministries near and farwe are not merely missing an opportunity; we are also forfeiting a vital means of spreading the gospel. We are sidelining one of Christs wise and strategic gifts to His people: the strength, encouragement, and shared advance of the gospel that He supplies through His body. Pauls gratitude does not stop at thanksgiving. It turns into intercession. Gratitude asks God to keep doing what only God can do. In verses 911, he opens his heart even further and shows us the kind of Christlike growth he longs to see in them. Lets look at Pauls prayer verses 9-11. Pauls Prayer (vv. 9-11) Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. The final movement of Pauls introduction is his prayer. He asks God to cause the Philippians to grow together in love as they look ahead to the day of Christ, when they will be presented to Him as a pure and blameless Bride, bringing glory and praise to God. Their love is to deepen through the means of knowledge and all discernment; its purpose is to prepare them for Christs return; its expression is to be the fruit of righteousness; and its ultimate outcome is the glory of God. Pauls request for knowledge and discernment in verse 9 echoes similar prayers in his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians. Yet here he uniquely emphasizes these qualities as the means by which their love will abound more and more. Paul begins by praying that the Philippians love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment (Phil. 1:9). His request is not for love in isolation or knowledge in isolation, but for a love that grows through increasing wisdom shaped by Gods Word. True knowledge and discernment do not stand apart from love; they produce and deepen it. God calls us to study His Word not to inflate our pride or accumulate information (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1), but to shape our character and fuel our service. As we work through this gospel-rich letter and observe the deep affection and partnership shared between Paul and the Philippians, we should be asking God to use His Word to strengthen our own bonds of love within the church. What we learn here is meant to move us toward greater love for one another. Martyn Lloyd-Jones observes, Where there is no love, there is no life, and there must be life before you can impart knowledge. Paul is afraid of knowledge that is not based upon love, and in the same way, he is afraid of love that cannot be controlled and checked by knowledge.7 His point is profound: love and knowledge are inseparable. You cannot love well without truly knowing, and you cannot genuinely know someone without opening your heart in love. Take, for example, marriage. I love my wife, but that love requires real knowledge of who she is. If I do not know her, I am only loving my own sentimental projectionsan imagined version of her shaped by my preferences rather than reality. Love must be grounded in truth. Likewise, I cannot truly know her unless I love her, because without love, I will keep my heart guarded, approaching her from a distance, analyzing rather than embracing, observing rather than entering into a relationship. Love and knowledge enrich and complete one another. But why does Paul pray this for the Philippians? Why must their love abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment? He answers in verse 10: so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. In other words, abounding loveshaped and informed by godly knowledge and discernmentenables believers to recognize what truly matters. It teaches us to choose what is excellent, especially the excellencies of Christ Himself. There are many good things one can dedicate their life to, but love enriched by knowledge directs us to the best things. Growing in love through knowing and being known by Jesus leads us to a life that is fruitful, pure, and pleasing to Goda life lived for His glory and praise. Beloved, true Christian loveproduced in us by the Holy Spiritgives both the desire and the strength to live according to what Gods Word declares to be right. The goal of growing in knowledge and discernment is that our love would overflow more and more, and the goal of abounding love is that we would become transformed people who delight in what is excellent, who walk in purity and blamelessness, and who bear the righteous fruit that comes through Jesus Christ. Through our shared life together, God uses our relationships to shape us into the image of His Son, all to the glory and praise of His name. Pauls deep love for the Philippians flowed from the fact that Christ had first loved him. And the Philippians could partner so faithfully with Paul because Christ Himself had united them in His grace. At the heart of all their affection, encouragement, and partnership stood the cross of Jesus Christ. Apart from the gospel, our service is merely an activity; but through the gospel, our service becomes worship, our love reflects His love, and our prayers join in the ongoing intercession of Christ for His people. Beloved, if this is what God has done in the Philippians and what Paul prays God will complete in them, then we must ask how this same grace should be seen among us. How should our view of ourselves, our relationships, and our prayers change because of Philippians 1:1-11? With that in mind, lets move from exposition to application. Application So as we close, just let Pauls own words lead you. In his greeting, he settles your identity: you belong to Christyou are His servant and His saint. In his thanksgiving, he strengthens your assurance: God started this work in you, and God will finish it. And in his prayer, he directs your next steps: love that grows, wisdom that discerns, and a life that bears fruit to the glory of God. Thats why Paul can sing in chainsand thats why you can walk in joy even when life is heavy: your story is not written by your circumstances, but by the faithful God who completes what He begins. So receive His grace, rest in His promise, and walk in His waysuntil the day of Christ. Endnotes ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), Philippians: Introduction. R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), Philippians: Introduction. J. C. Meyer, Philippians, in EphesiansPhilemon, vol. 11, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 134. Meyer, Philippians, 135. Grant R. Osborne, Philippians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), on Phil. 1:8. James Montgomery Boice, quoted in Steven J. Lawson, Philippians for You, ed. Carl Laferton (Epsom, UK: The Good Book Company, 2017), 35. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Life of Joy: An Exposition of Philippians 1 and 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), 54. Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

And so tonight in this tough text, we'll explore how this shocking statement, properly understood, does not call us to emotional rejection of our loved ones, but rather to something far more profound, a complete reordering of our of our affections that enables us to love others more deeply than we could ever do before. Through the lens of Augustine's concept of the ordo amoris, the proper ordering of loves, we will discover that Christ's demand represents not the destruction of human love and affection, but it's rather its ultimate fulfillment. So, to begin, Luke places the the words of this text at a crucial juncture in Jesus' uh journey to Jerusalem. Great crowds were following him, uh drawn by his miracles and by his authoritative teaching, uh and the hope that um he might be the long awaited Messiah who would deliver Israel from Roman oppression. And yet Jesus recognized that many in this crowd were motivated not by a a superficial enthusiasm rather than a genuine commitment. And they sought the benefits of following Christ without understanding uh the cost of this. And so this verse is directly uh directed rather primarily to those on the fence or those with practical motives like getting free food, free bread, or those with uh political concerns. So, um in response to this shallow discipleship, Jesus turns and addresses the the crowd with a series of increasingly demanding statements. He begins with the requirement to hate one's family and escalates to bearing one's cross and concludes with the necessity of renouncing all possessions. This is not gentle Jesus meek and mild that we see. This is the Lord who demands everything from those who would follow him. And so this passage from Luke 14:25 through 35, as viewed as a whole, forms a carefully constructed unit on counting the cost of discipleship. Jesus also employs two other parables in this section, the tower builder in verse 28 and the king going to war in verse 31 to illustrate the necessity of a deliberate commitment. Just as no sensible person begins a construction project without calculating whether they can complete that project, we know this from firsthand experience here most recently. Um, and no king engages in battle without first assessing his chances of victory. So no one should embark on the path of discipleship without understanding what is it going to require. The section concludes with a mysterious saying about salt losing its saltiness in verses 34 and 35, which suggests that half-hearted discipleship is not merely inadequate, but it is actively worthless. It's worth nothing. Jesus is not interested in gathering large crowds of nominal followers. He seeks only disciples who will follow him to the cross. So there's a Greek word here, uh that we that that we translate hate in the English, which is miseo. Did I get did I get that right, Adam? Miseo, which typically translate to hate in English, but we must understand it through the lens of first century Jewish thought patterns rather than with modern Western categories. Um, in Semitic languages and thought, comparative relationships were often expressed in absolute terms. So what we would, so how we would express as uh loving something less, the Hebrew speakers would express as hatred. It was much more binary for the Semitic um thinker. The clearest biblical example appears in Genesis 29, 30 and 31. There's many of them, but this is a clear one, where we read about Jacob's relationships with Leah and Rachel. Verse 30 tells us that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, while the very next verse describes Leah as hated. The Hebrew text uses the same root word for hate that underlies Jesus' statement in Luke. And yet clearly Jacob did not despise Leah in an absolute sense. He lived with her, had children with her, and provided for her. The hatred was comparative, not absolute. And so Matthew's gospel um also provides crucial interpretive help. Um, in Matthew 10:37, if you'd like to to shift over there real quickly, I'll wait for you. Matthew 10:37. The same teaching appears in comparative rather than an absolute language. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. So Matthew, writing in a primarily Jewish audience familiar with Semitic hyperbole, preserves what may be closer to Jesus' actual phrasing. Luke, writing to Gentile readers, may have retained the more shocking formulation precisely because it better conveys the radical nature of Jesus' demand to an audience unfamiliar with Hebrew idioms. This parallel demonstrates that Jesus is not commanding emotional hostility towards family members, but instead establishing a hierarchy of devotion. The issue is not whether we love our families, because scripture elsewhere commands such love, but whether we love them more than we love Christ. Notice the comprehensive scope of Jesus' requirement back in Luke. He moves systematically through the circles of human affection, parents who give us life, the spouse in whom we are one flesh, um children who carry our hopes for the future, siblings who share our blood and our name, and finally our very own lives. So nothing is exempt from subordination to Christ. Every natural affection, every human loyalty, every instinct for self-preservation must yield to his supremacy. That's what he demands. So, uh, St. Augustine of Hippo, um, some many of you are familiar with him. He's perhaps the most influential theologian of the early church after Paul, provides us with a framework that illustrates Jesus' teaching. Augustine or Augustine, if you prefer, um, argued that the fundamental problem with the human condition is not that we love wrong things, but that we love right things in the wrong order. This is the essence of his concept of ordo amoris, the proper ordering of loves. Thomas Aquinas also expanded upon this concept and some other thinkers. Um, in order to to to get a foundation for this, please turn over to, I'm this is probably the last verse I'll have you turn to. Matthew 22, 37 through 40. It's one that you you know well. Matthew 22, 37 to 40. Where Jesus says, the greatest commandment is this, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second command the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. So this establishes the fundamental ordering. God first, neighbor second, self third. Augustine saw this as the blueprint for all properly ordered love. Now, uh different thinkers throughout time have ordered these differently, but the the there is a concept that there are orders to our love. And that God is primary among them. So according to Augustine, God, as the supreme good and the source of all other goods, must be loved supremely. Every other love must be loved in proper relation to him. When we elevate a lesser good, however legitimate in itself, above God, we commit idolatry and we introduce disorder not only into our souls, but into our relationships. This disorder corrupts both our relationship with God and our relationship with the very thing that we have wrongly elevated. So, take a moment to consider how this works practically. When parents love their children more than God, more than Christ, they often turn those children into idols who must then bear the impossible weight of providing ultimate meaning and satisfaction to their parents. The children are unable to bear this burden, and they either crumble under the pressure or they rebel against it. Neither one is a good outcome. So what was meant to be a blessing from God becomes a source instead of dysfunction. But when parents love God supremely and love their children in uh in Christ and for Christ's sake, the parent-child relationship finds its proper proportion and it flourishes according to its design. Augustine also observed that disordered love destroys both the lover and the beloved. So when we make ultimate what God made to be penultimate, we demand from created things what only the creator can provide to us. A spouse cannot be our savior. A career cannot be our security. Children cannot be our redemption. And so when we ask created things to be gods, we crush them under the expectations that they were never designed to meet. Further, that that disordered love enslaves us, not just those around us. And so when family approval becomes absolute to you, we become slaves to family opinion. When romantic love becomes supreme, we become dependent on the fallen hu on another fallen human for our sense of self-worth, which is a disaster. When self-preservation tops our hierarchy of values, fear becomes our master. Only when God in Christ occupies his rightful place at the summit of our affections, do we find freedom from these lesser tyrannies. This is where we encounter the beautiful paradox of Jesus' demand. By requiring us to hate all else in comparison to him, Christ actually liberates us to love people and um to love people and things properly for the first time and in the right order. And so when God is loved supremely, everything else can be loved appropriately. Neither too much nor too little, neither as gods nor as garbage, but as gifts instead. Um, C.S. Lewis captured this truth magnificently in his book The Four Loves, and this is what he said. When I have learned to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards a state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed, but rather are increased. So this is the gospel's great paradox and mystery. Surrender leads to fulfillment, death leads to life, and hating in the way Jesus means leads us to our deepest and truest loves. As a side note, um Lewis's novella, The Great Divorce, uh is a is a tour de force uh dramatization and examination of ordered versus disordered loves. I highly recommend it despite some some of its flaws, and I've read it many times. And I recommend it to you as well. So how does this theological principle translate into practical living? First, it means that every decision we make must be evaluated in light of our supreme allegiance to Christ. When family expectations um conflict with Christ's calling, Christ's calling must take precedence. When cultural or political values clash with kingdom values, kingdom values must prevail. This is what Jesus is telling us. When self-interest opposes self-denial, we must choose the cross. This might mean a young person pursuing missionary service despite parental approval. It might mean refusing a lucrative job opportunity that would require compromising your principles. It might mean setting boundaries for family members whose demands would prevent faithful discipleship. These decisions are never easy, and they often involve genuine loss and pain, but they flow from the recognition that Christ has first claim on our lives. Jesus immediately Jesus immediately follows his demand about hating family with a requirement to bear one's cross. Um in verse 27, he says, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. In the first century context, this image was shockingly vivid because this meant that the the this was the cross, this was Rome's instrument of torture and execution, and it was it was reserved for slaves and for insurrectionists, the the lowest of the low. So to bear one's cross meant to carry the horizontal beam in the place of execution, which meant publicly acknowledging Rome's authority and accepting its judgment. And so for Jesus' followers, bearing the cross means accepting the world's judgment on our allegiance to Christ. It means being willing to be misunderstood or rejected or even persecuted for his sake. It means dying to our own agenda and living to his. And so the cross is not merely an inconvenience or a disappointment, it is death to self-sovereignty. And yet Jesus' demand contains an implicit promise as well. So don't miss this. When he says that anyone who does not hate father and mother cannot be his disciple, he implies that those who do meet this requirement can indeed be his disciples. The very severity of the demand highlights the magnificence of the relationship offered. Jesus is not merely seeking students to learn his teachings or admirers to appreciate his wisdom. He seeks disciples who will share in his life and his mission and in his inheritance. Moreover, Jesus himself models what he demands of us. He loved his earthly family, um caring for his mother even from the cross. And yet he subordinated these natural affections to his father's will by going to the cross, despite the bewilderment and the agony that this caused his mother and his disciples. And so when when his mother and brothers sought to interrupt his ministry in Mark uh chapter 3, 31 through 35, he declared that whoever does God's will is his true family. And he shows that it is possible to honor both human relationships while maintaining divine priorities. I think it's also crucial here to to clarify what Jesus is not commanding. He is not commanding us to emotional coldness towards our families. He's not endorsing neglect of family responsibilities. Indeed, elsewhere he condemns those who use religious devotion as an excuse to avoid caring for parents in Mark chapter 7. He's not promoting a spiritual elitism that despises normal human affections. Neither is Jesus establishing a competition between love for God and love for others, as if these were mutually exclusive categories. Rather, he is establishing the proper foundation and ordering principle for all loves. So when we love God supremely, we are freed to love others appropriately. Again, neither as gods who can save us nor as obstacles to be overcome, but as fellow creatures made in God's image, worthy of love that flows from and returns to its source in Christ. And in our contemporary context, this teaching speaks powerfully to several common idolatries. In cultures, for example, that prioritize family, Jesus' words remind us that even the most sacred human bonds must not become ultimate, lest they become corrupted or destroyed. The family is a good gift from God, but it is not God. And so when family loyalty requires us to overlook injustice or compromise truth, we must choose Christ over family. And similarly in our individualistic age that makes self-fulfillment the highest good, Jesus' demand that we hate even our own lives and preferences challenges the sovereignty of our selves. So the modernist gospel of self-love and self-actualization and self-esteem crumbles before Christ's call to self-denial. And yet, again, there's this paradox. In losing our lives for his sake, we actually find them. And in dying to self-sovereignty, we discover our true identity and freedom as beloved children of God. So for those who are struggling with difficult family relationships, this passage offers both challenge and comfort. The passage is to ensure that family dysfunction does not become an excuse for failing to honor parents or to care for family members as scripture commands. The comfort is in knowing that when family relationships become destructive or demanding in ways that oppose faithful discipleship, we have Christ's own authority for maintaining proper boundaries. For those blessed with loving families, the challenge may actually even be greater. It's often easier to subordinate a difficult relationship to Christ than a delightful one. Yet, even the best human relationships must not be allowed to compete with Christ for supremacy in our hearts. The test often comes in subtle ways. Are you willing to speak gospel truth even when it might strain family harmony, for example? Can we put kingdom priorities above family preferences? Will we choose Christ's calling over family comfort and harmony? The doctrine of the Trinity provides the ultimate model for properly uh ordered loves. Uh for example, within the Godhead, the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from their love. And yet this love operates in perfect order and harmony. The Son's subordination to the Father's will, most clearly displayed in Gethsemane, does not diminish his deity or dignity, but expresses the perfect love that exists within the Trinity. And so when we participate in this divine love through Christ, we enter into this same dynamic of ordered affections. We love the Father through the Son and the power of the Spirit, and from this primary relationship flows our love for all creation. This is not merely a human achievement, but it's a participation in the very life of God. Also, uh Jesus' demand also makes sense only in light of eternity. From an earthly perspective or maybe from a materialistic perspective, putting Christ above family can seem harsh or unnatural. But from an eternal perspective, the this is the only a rational response. Our earthly families, precious as they are, are temporary arrangements. And in the resurrection, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:30, that there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage. Our ultimate and eternal identity is not as someone's spouse or parent or child, certainly not as an employee, but as members of God's family. And so this eternal perspective does not diminish the importance of earthly families or institutions, I argue, but instead properly situates them. They are schools of love where we learn the care for others, laboratories of forgiveness where we practice reconciliation daily, and symbols of the divine authority that points us toward our ultimate home. But they are not themselves ultimate. Only by keeping eternity in view can we love our families properly within the boundaries of time. And so as we conclude our exploration of this challenging text, we need to ask ourselves, have we truly counted the cost of following Jesus? Have we recognized that he demands not a portion of our lives, but all of our lives, the whole our whole lives? Have we understood that discipleship means not adding Jesus to our existing priorities, but allowing him to reorder our priorities? The call to hate mother and father, brothers and sisters, is ultimately a call to love, to love God with the supremacy he deserves, and thereby um to love all else with in proper proportions. So this is an invitation to freedom from the tyranny of disordered affections and an entrance into the peace of properly ordered loves. It is costly grace that demands everything, but gives back infinitely in return. Augustine understood this when he prayed this prayer. He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee, which he loves not for thy sake. May we learn to love God with such supremacy that all of our loves are purified, strengthened, and properly ordered. May we have the courage to put first things first, trusting that when we do, second things are not lost, but indeed they are found. So the gospel of Luke presents us with Jesus' uncompromising call, absolute devotion that looks like hatred by comparison. This is not the hatred of hostility, but the hatred of hierarchy, the recognition that Christ must be supreme or he is not Lord at all. And so in embracing this demanding discipleship, we discover that we have not lost our families or our lives, but we have paradoxically found them transformed and restored in Christ. And so let us take up our cross daily and reorder our loves daily in a proper way and follow him who loved us and gave himself for us. For in losing our lives for his sake, we find them. And in hating all else by comparison, we learn to love truly. And in dying to our own sovereignty, we rise to life eternal. So the question remains, will we be his disciples on his terms, or will we turn back to the lesser loves that can never ultimately satisfy us? The choice is ours, but the terms are his. So, church, may God grant us grace to choose wisely, to love in an orderly fashion, and to follow faithfully. And now I am ready for your questions. Well, I'm actually never ready for your questions, but it just seemed like the thing to say. Go on.

As I begin Id like to trace out the context of our passage tonight. The tough text in view is Romans 11:25-26, but in order to understand it we need to see most of Romans 11 that led up to it. So lets see it. In 11:1-10, as Paul begins Romans 11 hes eager to remind us that God has not rejected His people Israel, but has kept a remnant of faithful followers throughout the ages even down to today. So even though the vast majority of Jews reject the gospel, there remains a remnant alive and well chosen by grace while the rest of Israel has been hardened in their unbelief. Then, in 11:11-24, we saw Gods purpose in hardening the majority of Israel was to get the gospel out to us, to the Gentiles, to the nations. Which, God says, will ultimately cause Israel to be stirred or provoked to jealousy as they see us Gentiles enjoying the great promises God first made to them. And from being so jealous God says many of them will return to the gospel. Praise God! Paul speaks of this great return to Christ in dramatic terms. He says there was and is great gain and riches in the Gentiles redemption through the gospel, but when the fullness of Israel returns, there will be much more gain, much more riches, much more blessing and glory to behold. Until then, Paul warns us Gentiles to not make the error of Israel and grow pridefule with a smug sense of superiority over the Jews who are hardened, as if weve totally replaced them as the people of God. No, were not to be proud, were to fear the Lord. After all, since God can do the harder thing and bring us in who were once strangers to these great promises of old, God can do the easier thing and bring Jews who believe back in. Perhaps now were ready to come to our tough text. The Mystery (v25-27) Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob ; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins. As v25 begins we see an immediate connection with what has come before. The section before this, v11-24, contains a hefty warning against Gentile arrogance. Weve looked at some of that already today as we began. See then how v25 continues on in the same vein. Lest you be wise in your own sight is a strong plea for humility, but it also means that what Paul has been telling us and is about to tell us is practical through and through. Weve discussed some elements of eschatology here in our time together as weve walked through this chapter, and I wonder if some of you at the very mention of the word eschatology thought to yourselves Why in the world does this matter to me? You wouldnt be alone in such thinking. Many people believe the great doctrines of our faith are cold and dusty, or clinical and lifeless. Far from it! Paul knows no such kind of theology. His theology, which should be our theology, is vibrant, full of life and practicality. v25 shows us this. Do any of you struggle with pride? Perhaps then, you need to remember who you once were apart from grace. As a Gentile you were once an alien, a stranger, a foreigner, wicked, dead in sin, hated by God and hating one another. Perhaps then you need to remember how God saved you, by grace and grace alone. Perhaps then we need to remember what will come about in the future. That Gentiles arent the end all be all of Gods plan. God will move and bring in the fullness of Israel through Christ. All this to say, Pauls theology here is full of life and practicality because it shows us how no Gentile can boast about who they are after reading this passage. Ethnic pride was a problem in these Roman congregations, and it remains a problem in every age really. See how Paul moves on. After warning against pride he tells us of a mystery he doesnt want us to unaware of. This is one of Pauls favorite ways of saying, I really want you to be aware of this. Whats the mystery? Well first, that its called a mystery ought to be remembered. This is worth noting because while there are things we can know for sure about this, some of what hes about to tell us will remain mysterious. Second, that its called a mystery shows us some of what is truly going on here. A mystery according to the world is something that cannot be known, something totally beyond our understanding. But according to the Bible and how this word is used in the Bible, mystery means something else. It is something that was once hidden and has now been revealed. And that its now revealed means its actually something we can know truly, although not fully. Well, what is this mystery? Paul says it, a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved Of all the passages in Romans 9-11, v25-26a, what we just read, tends to be the most hotly debated sentence. So, follow this closely. Paul has already told us of Israels hardening for rejecting the gospel back in 11:7-10. Paul has also already spoken to us, in great anticipation, of what the return of Israel to God through the gospel will be like in 11:11-15, that when that day comes it will be life from the dead. Now, in v25-26 he tells us more. That Israels hardening, which was partial, will be removed at a specific time. What time? When the fullness or full number of the Gentiles have been saved. When that happens Paul says, all Israel will be saved I do think this is clear. The debate surrounds this last phrase. And in this way all Israel will be saved? What does it mean? Well, this phrase all Israel could just mean the Church, all believing Jews and Gentiles together who make up the New Covenant people. Paul does speak like this in other places, clearly. In Phil. 3:3 he refers to the Church as the true circumcision and in Gal. 6:16 he even calls the Church the Israel of God. This is the view that St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin taught, and this what I used to think this is what it meant, but I no longer believe that to be the case. While Paul truly does speak like that about the Church in other places hes not doing that here in Romans 11. Rather, I think all Israel in v26 refers to the bulk of the Jewish people who will one day return to the gospel. Why do I think this? Because all throughout Romans 11 Paul has been using the word Israel to describe the Jews, contrasting them with the Gentiles time and time again. So Israel means Israel here, Paul isnt going to use the word to refer to one thing throughout the whole chapter and then all of the sudden use it and mean something else. v25-26 shows us this. A partial hardening has come to Israel, to the Jews, and when the moment comes when the full number of the Gentiles has come in all Israel, or the bulk of the Jewish people, will return to the gospel. Thats what the phrase in this way means in v26. The way all Israel will be saved in the end is that circular pattern of rejection jealousy - return described in v11-24 which Paul summarizes in v25.[1] This is Pauls great concern here. He isnt concerned with Israel as a governmental or political entity. He isnt concerned with land of Palestine, not at all. His concern is with the Jewish people themselves, with Israel.[2] And just in case we might think all Israel will be saved simply because theyre Israel, simply because theyre Jews, Paul, once again goes back to the OT to correct us and show us the truth in v27 saying. as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob ; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins. These two quotations come from mainly from Isaiah. Paul does pepper in a few phrases from the Psalms here as well to make his point clear v27 reminds us the way Israel will be saved. Yes, when the bulk of the Jewish nation returns, they will return to God(why?)because theyre Jews? No. They will return only through the One called the Deliverer, who comes from Zion to save by taking away sins. Who is this One, who does this and establishes a New Covenant? This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Where did Christ take away sins? The cross. Church see it. Christ, is how the fullness of the Gentiles will be saved and Christ, is how the fullness of Israel will be saved as well. The gathering of Israel into the Church is therefore, not a possibility, and not even a probability, it is a promised certainty.[3] When this occurs, dont forget it. When we see the Jews return and trust in Christ it will be so astounding and amazing that it will be like life from dead as v15 tells us, and we all will rejoice! All of this in v25-27 then, is the great mystery that was once hidden but is now revealed here in this passage. Having told us what the mystery is, Paul, in v28-32, will now explain this mystery further as he sums up his entire argument in Romans 9-11. The Mystery Explained (v28-32) As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all. These verses might at first seem strange to hear. It is not very often that we hear it stated that Israel is a people who are both the enemies of God and the beloved of God. But such is v28. So, what do we do this? Rather than seeing this as Paul saying two opposite and contradictory statements at once, see v28 as Paul summarizing all he has said so far in Romans 9, 10, and 11.[4] How so? Think about it. When the gospel is in view, Israel is indeed our enemy because the majority of Israel rejects the gospel. Was this not Pauls point in the first half of Romans 9-11? Indeed it was. Chapter 9:30-10:21 powerfully speaks to this reality in tragic terms. Remember it? Israel is truly zealous for God, but their zeal isnt according to knowledge. They truly seek after righteousness but not Gods righteousness revealed in Christ, theyre ever bent to establish their own righteousness. And even though the gospel is now going out to the ends of the earth, and even though Gods arms of everlasting love are held out to them all day long they still reject God and His Christ. Whats the result of this? 10:21 says it and it is a tragic blow, Israel is a disobedient and contrary people. Thats what Paul means in v11:28 when he says Israel is now our enemies in relation to the gospel. But the rest of 11:28 tells us the rest of the story. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. Was this not Pauls point all through chapter 11:1-27? Indeed it was. There we read that God has not rejected His people, but has a future for them. Of all the nations in the world God chose them and set His affection on them and made great promises to the forefathers, the great patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yes God hardened them in their unbelief when they rejected the gospel, but the hardening was not full or final. For when the Jews see Gentiles enjoying the great promises first made to the forefathers of Israel, Israel will become jealous, and in such jealousy many will return to the gospel. All this to say, Israel is both an enemy when the gospel is in view, and beloved by God when the great promises of old come into view, and those promises will, in the end, show themselves to be firm! This again, is simply Romans 9-11 in summary form. But why are these things true? Because of v29, For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Gods promises are binding, unchangeable, unalterable, irreversible, constant, fixed, final. So Israel does indeed have a place and future in Gods great plan, but, its not because of Israel that they still have a place and future in Gods plan, its only because of God and because God is forever faithful to His promises. In v28-29 then, Paul has summarized all of chapter 9-11. But as he concludes in v30-32 he drives it home to us all, both Jew and Gentile, and shows us the great mercy of God. Hear it again, For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all. Conclusion: I love how the Gospel Transformation Study Bible puts it in the notes on this verse. There is a mysterious symmetry and reciprocity in Gods judgment and mercy to both Gentiles and Jews. The bottom line is that God desires to have mercy on all because mercy is His heart, it is who He is.[5] Church, if it werent for the mercy of God wed all be lost. Thats where the matter ends. [1] Douglas Moo, Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2018), 735. [2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans - To God's Glory (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth, 1985), 186. [3] Lloyd-Jones, 168. [4] Moo, Romans, 744. [5] The Gospel Transformation Study Bible, note on Romans 11:25-32, 1519.

Beloved SonRise family, we are in the midst of our Tough Texts series, where we intentionallywrestle with passages of Scripture that challenge, perplex, or even discomfort us. These are theverses that make us stop, reflect, and lean harder on Gods Word. Tonight, we confront one suchpassage: 1 John 5:13-17. If I were to ask you today, What is the single greatest struggle in the Christian life? many ofyou would likely say doubt. We wrestle with the question: Am I truly saved? We examine ourfailures, our inconsistent obedience, and the persistent presence of sin in our lives, and wewonder, Do I really have what it takes to be a Christian? Do I have eternal life?The Apostle John was intimately familiar with this struggle. Throughout this letter, he has givenus a series of spiritual tests to help us discern the reality of our faith and the assurance thatflows from it: Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Do you obey Godscommandments? Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? Johns purpose is clear: tocultivate assurancea settled confidence that those who believe in Jesus Christ truly belong toGod. John connects the assurance of salvation with the power of intercessory prayer and thereality of sin in the believers life. Transition: Before we delve into Johns teachings on sin and prayer, let us consider a poignantexample of the human struggle with fear and doubt. Illustration: John Bunyan and the Sin Leading to Death In Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan recounts a season early in hisChristian life when he feared he had committed the sin that leads to death. For weeks, heagonized, convinced that his sin was unforgivable. He compared himself to Peter and Judas andconcluded his sin was worse than both.Desperate, Bunyan sought counsel from an older believersomeone he thought wiser, moreseasoned in Scriptureconfessing the blasphemous thoughts he had uttered in his heart and hismomentary yielding to temptation to deny the Lord. But instead of offering comfort, the olderman sorrowfully agreed that Bunyan had indeed committed the sin that leads to death. Bunyansanguish reveals a universal Christian strugglethe fear that we might fall so far that grace canno longer reach us. Though Bunyan eventually found comfort in Gods mercy, his tormentunderscores how severe Johns warning truly is. Transition: Understanding Bunyans struggle helps us appreciate why John wrote his epistletoguide believers toward assurance, even in the face of sin, while warning of the dangers ofpersistently rejecting Christ. The passage of 1 John 5:16-17 presents one of the most profound and challenging distinctions inthe New Testament: the difference between a "sin that leads to death" and a "sin that does notlead to death." It is one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. The passage createstension: on the one hand, the letter is emphatically pastoral, encouraging the reader to know thatthey have eternal life (1 John 5:13). On the other hand, this passage introduces a sin that leadsto death and a caution against praying for it. This passage has been debated for two millennia.We must understand the distinction not as a difference in the severity of the act, but in thespiritual state of the person sinning. Many scholars, theologians, church fathers, and pastors overthe centuries have debated on how one should rightly interpret this text. From a Reformed standpoint, we must hold together (at a minimum) two truths: 1. True believers persevere and are kept by the power of God (i.e., perseverance of the2. saints). The New Testament warns seriously against apostasy, unbelief, false doctrine, andunrepentant sin. To grasp the weight of Johns words, we must first understand the context in which they arespoken. John wrote to churches in Asia Minor, likely from Ephesus, between A.D. 85 and 95.Within these churches, a false teachingwhat scholars refer to as proto-Gnosticismhademerged. These heretics denied the true humanity of Christ. Some, known as Docetists, claimedJesus only seemed to have a body. Others, followers of Cerinthus, taught that the divine Christleft the man Jesus before the crucifixion. This heresy produced moral and spiritual decay. Believing themselves to possess a higher, secretknowledge (gnōsis), they concluded that physical behavior was irrelevant to their understanding.This led to antinomianism, the idea that believers were no longer bound by moral law. Johnexposes their false claims: They went out from us, but they were not of us (1 John 2:19). Transition: With this background in mind, we see that Johns warnings are not about ordinaryfailings but about a serious, deliberate turning away from Christ. Understanding the falseteachings in these churches helps us grasp why he emphasizes both the reality of apostasy andthe certainty of assurance for those who genuinely belong to God. Before addressing thechallenges of sin and prayer, John first anchors us in the unshakable certainty every believer canhave in Christ. The Foundation of Assurance: (v. 13) The Privilege of Intercession: (vv. 1416a) The Warning of Apostasy: (vv. 16b17) 1. The Foundation of Assurance: (v. 13) The purpose of John's letter is assurance. John says plainly: These things I have written to youwho believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.He is not writing to make believers doubt, but to make them certain. The Gospel of John waswritten so that unbelievers might come to faith (John 20:31). This epistle, however, was writtenso that believers might rest in faith. Here, John is not addressing unbelievers, nor is he presentinga hypothetical scenario. He is speaking directly to those who already believethose who haveplaced their trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The goal of his letter is not to sow doubt, butto cultivate certainty and confidence. Assurance, therefore, is both possible and necessary for theChristian life. But what does this assurance look like in practice? John tells us that it rests not in ourperformance, our feelings, or our ability to overcome sin, but in the finished work of Christ. Thebelievers security is anchored in the Person and work of JesusHis obedience, His death on thecross, and His resurrection. As John later emphasizes in 1 John 5:11-12, eternal life is found inChrist, not in our own efforts: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and thislife is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does nothave life. True assurance rests not in our performance but in the finished work of Christin Hisobedience, His death, and His resurrection. As John Calvin explains: The certainty of salvationis not founded on our own righteousness, but on the unfailing promise and fidelity of God inChrist. Transition: With assurance in mind, John now draws a connection between confidence in Godand our prayer life, showing how assurance motivates intercessory love. Having established theunshakeable certainty of our salvation, John now turns to how that assurance shapes our lives. Aheart confident in Gods love will naturally reach out in prayer, interceding for others in theirstruggles.2. The Privilege of Intercession: (vv. 1416a)John begins in verse 14: And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we askanything according to His will, He hears us. Here, John describes the assurance believerspossess in prayer. Prayer is not tentative or uncertainit is grounded in a relationship with God.Because we belong to Him, we may approach His throne boldly, confident that He hears us. Thisconfidence, however, is conditioned by alignment with His will. It is not a blank check forselfish desires, but an invitation to participate in Gods redemptive work according to Hispurposes. Verse 15 continues this thought: And if we know that He hears uswhatever we askweknow that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. John emphasizes the effectivenessand certainty of prayer. When we pray in accordance with Gods will, we may rest assured thatour petitions are not ignored or lost. Gods hearing is not passive; it is active, responsive, andpurposeful, bringing life, restoration, and spiritual fruit in the believers life and in the lives ofothers. In 1 John 5:16a, John instructs believers: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin notleading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life. Here, John is describing the believerscall to intercede for one another. He distinguishes between sins that are serious yet remediableand those that are final and irreparable. In this verse, he focuses on the first: the sins that do notend in spiritual death. Believers who stumble are still within the reach of Gods grace, and prayerbecomes the channel through which God restores and gives life. John now connects our assurance with our prayer life: And this is the confidence that we havetoward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we ask, we knowthat we have the requests that we have asked of him. Notice the link between assurance andintercession: those who know they belong to God are quick to pray for others who stumble.Intercession is both a privilege and a responsibility for believers in the local church. We areinvited to stand in the gap for others, not to judge or condemn, but to bring them before God.This prayer reflects the heart of God, who Himself intercedes for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrewssuch prayer for other believers to be answered: 7:25), and demonstrates the Spirits active work within our own hearts. John tells us to expectGod will give him life. This is not presumption, but we can pray boldly for one another, knowing that as we pray for theperseverance of the saints, we pray according to Gods will Transition: John immediately illustrates this connection by distinguishing two kinds of sin:those that do not lead to death and those that do. Lets consider the first category.3. The Warning of Apostasy: (vv. 16b17)A. Sin Not Leading to DeathJohn says, If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, andGod will give him life.In 1 John 5:16-17, John introduces a profound distinction: the difference between a sin thatleads to death and a sin that does not lead to death. He begins with the latter, urging believersto pray for fellow Christians caught in such sin. Scripture reminds us that all wrongdoing is sin(1 John 5:17) and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin always brings deathwhether physical in this life or spiritual as eternal separation from God. Yet physical death is theuniversal consequence of living in a fallen world.While all sin carries consequences, Johns focus here is specific: the spiritual realities forbelievers versus those who reject Christ. The emphasis is on spiritual deatheternalseparationbecause the letter consistently highlights eternal life and fellowship with God (1John 1:2-3; 5:11-13). John distinguishes two kinds of sin. A sin not leading to death is seriousbut not final, because the sinner remains open to confession and repentance (1 John 1:7, 9; 2:12;3:5). Such sins, arising from weakness, ignorance, or passion, are not unto death because thebeliever is covered by Christs atonement and guided by the Holy Spirit. Intercessory prayer forthese believers is therefore both appropriate and effective. Historically, the church affirms this.Tertullian notes that believers may sin but remain under Gods mercy, making prayer for themboth necessary and fruitful. Origen similarly observes that Gods grace preserves the believerfrom final ruin, providing the ongoing opportunity for repentance.⁴Transition: Having established the nature of sins that believers commit and the role of prayer inrestoration, John now moves to a far graver categorythe sin leading to death. Here, he shiftsfrom encouragement to a sobering warning about the spiritual peril of deliberately rejectingChrist without repentance.B. Sin Leading to DeathThe sin leading to death functions as a severe warning. This refers to a deliberate, ongoingrejection of Christ by someone who once professed faith. Genuine believers, John teaches, do notlive in continual rebellion (1 John 3:46, 9). When John speaks of those in the Ephesian churchwho left, he observes: they went out from us because they were not of us (1 John 2:19). Theirdeparture does not signify a loss of salvation, but rather reveals that they were false convertsfrom the outset.Patristic and Reformed fathers converge on this understanding. Chrysostom interprets this sin asthe final hardening of the heart, rendering repentance impossible.⁵ Augustine notes thatdeliberate resistance to Gods grace demonstrates that the person was never truly regenerate.⁶Calvin explains it as those who fall away from the gospel in deliberate unbelief, extinguishingall light of grace.⁷ Owen emphasizes that the defining characteristic is a settled rejection ofChrist, not merely the severity of the act. Thus, the sin leading to death is primarily about thespiritual state of the persona conscious, hardened rebellion against God leading to eternalseparation. It is unrepentant sin that exposes false profession and culminates in spiritual andeternal death.⁸But then John adds the haunting line: There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he shouldpray for that (v. 16b). This is where the text becomes difficultand deeply sobering. The Greekphrase ὸ ά (pros thanaton, toward death) does not refer to a single act of sin but aspiritual conditiona hardening direction of the soul away from God. This is not a believerstruggling under weakness; it is one who has turned away in unbelief, rejecting Christ andresisting the Spirits call. Charles Spurgeon explained: He who has committed the sin untodeath has no desire for forgiveness; he will never repent, he will never seek faith in Christ.⁹Romans 1:28 gives us the tragic parallel: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,God gave them up to a debased mind. Here is the dreadful consequence of continual resistanceto Gods gracethe Spirit ceases to strive, the conscience grows cold, and the heart becomesstone. This is not merely moral failure but spiritual apostasy, the willful rejection of Gods truthafter having known it.How should we understand Johns words regarding those who commit a sin leading to death?Notice his careful, almost tender phrasing. In a letter where he often speaks with bold clarity,here he approaches the matter with gentle clarity. He does not forbid prayer for such individuals;he says, I do not say that he should pray for that (v. 16b). His words acknowledge a delicatebalance: we are free to pray for the hardened, yet there may come a point when continuedintercession is no longer fruitfuland we may step back without guilt or shame.Scripture offers guidance on this principle. God at times instructed Jeremiah to cease praying fora rebellious people (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14), and Jesus told His disciples that some cities wouldnot listen, and they were to shake the dust off their feet (Matthew 10:14). John seems torecognize the painful reality that some hearts may become so closed that our prayers no longerbear fruit. Yet because it is rarely clear when that point has been reached, he neither forbidsprayer nor prescribes a fixed limit. Instead, he lovingly leaves space for discernmenturging usto pray as long as there is hope, and to trust Gods wisdom when He signals that it is time to stepback.Transition: With these distinctions in mind, we can now examine the major theologicalinterpretations of the sin leading to death, weighing their strengths and weaknesses.C. The Four Major Views of the Sin Leading to DeathTheologians and commentators have proposed several interpretations of what John means bythe sin leading to death. Each view attempts to explain how this concept fits within the broadertheology of Scripture and Johns pastoral intent. Evaluating these views helps us discern both thegravity of sin and the certainty of assurance for the faithful. Each of these views offers valuableinsight into the seriousness of sin and the necessity of genuine faith. Yet only one coherentlyexplains Johns logic, his language, and his larger theological framework.1. Mortal Sin (The Roman Catholic View)Some interpreters, particularly within the Roman Catholic tradition, understand the sin leadingto death as grave or mortal sinserious transgressions such as murder, adultery, or apostasythat sever the believer from Gods grace until absolved through confession. Strengths:This view emphasizes the seriousness of sin and the need for spiritual vigilance. It rightlyrecognizes that certain sins are more destructive than others and that divine restorationmay require specific, deliberate steps. Weaknesses:While capturing the gravity of sin, this interpretation operates within a sacramentalframework not present in Johns epistle. The letter consistently highlights the contrastbetween eternal life and spiritual death, rather than a system of confession andabsolution. Moreover, Johns text appears concerned not with a single sinful act but witha settled spiritual condition, which transcends the rubric of mortal sin.Transition: While the mortal sin view underscores sins severity, another view interprets Johnswarning in terms of physical consequences.2. Physical Death or Divine DisciplineSome scholars, including Augustine and modern interpreters such as John Stott, suggest that thephrase sin unto death refers to physical death as a form of divine discipline. Examples citedinclude Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) or the Corinthians who died because they partook ofthe Lords Supper unworthily (1 Cor. 11:30). Strengths:This view rightly acknowledges that God disciplines His people and that sin can havetangible, temporal consequences. It takes Johns pastoral concern seriously to warnbelievers of the real-world effects of sin. Weaknesses:However, this view overlooks the eternal dimension emphasized throughout 1 John.Life and death in the letter refer primarily to spiritual and eternal realities, not merelyphysical outcomes (1 John 3:14; 5:1112). Reducing the sin unto death to physicalconsequence diminishes the gravity of Johns warning. Additionally, the instruction I donot say that he should pray for that loses clarity if the matter is simply temporaldiscipline, as prayer is precisely the avenue for restoration (cf. James 5:16-20).Transition: Beyond physical consequences, some interpreters connect Johns teaching to theunforgivable sin described by Christ.3. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit ViewAnother interpretation aligns the sin leading to death with Jesus warning about blasphemyagainst the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:3132). Here, the sin represents a persistent, knowing rejectionof the Spirits testimony about Christ, ultimately leading to death because it rejects the onlysource of spiritual life. Strengths:This view correctly identifies the sin as deliberate, conscious unbelief. It aligns withpassages like Hebrews 6:46 and 10:2627, highlighting a hardened heart that has tastedthe truth but now resists it. The eternal consequence of life versus death is preserved. Weaknesses:Nevertheless, this interpretation imports language and historical context from the Gospelsthat may not fully apply to Johns pastoral audienceprofessing Christians in AsiaMinor rather than hardened Jewish leaders. John never explicitly uses the termblasphemy against the Spirit in his epistle. While related in theme, it may not preciselydescribe the spiritual dynamics in 1 John.Transition: Another lens, particularly favored by Reformed commentators, focuses on theapostasy of false teachers in Johns audience.4. The Apostasy ViewThis view interprets the sin leading to death as the total apostasy of those who once professedfaith but have departed from Christ. It is the persistent, deliberate rejection of the Son of Godafter exposure to the truth. Prominent advocates include John Calvin, John Owen, and manyReformed theologians. Strengths:This interpretation closely follows Johns logic and pastoral intent. Throughout theepistle, John distinguishes between those who are truly of God and those who are not(2:19; 5:19). The sin leading to death is thus not an ordinary failure but evidence ofunregenerate hearts. It explains Johns instructions to pray for believers who commit sinsnot leading to death, while withholding prayer for those who are apostates. The viewpreserves the believers assurance while soberly warning against counterfeit profession. Weaknesses:Critics may argue that this view seems to close the door on repentance for individualswho have fallen outwardly. However, Johns caution is specific: it addresses those whoserejection is final and settled, not every case of backsliding. Pastoral sensitivity isrequired, but the view remains consistent with Scripture and Johannine theology.Transition: After considering all these views, we must ask: Which interpretation best fits Johnsgrammar, theology, and pastoral purpose?1 John. Grammatically, Johns phrase sin leading to death than an isolated act. Contextually, John distinguishes between those who are of God and thosewho are of the world (5:19). The sin unto death, therefore, identifies those who permanentlyWhy the Apostasy View is ValidThe apostasy view offers the most compelling account for both the grammar and the theology ofconveys a settled trajectory ratherturn from Christ, showing they never truly belonged to Him. The believer may stumble, but theapostate abandons the faith altogether (2:19).Theologically, this interpretation aligns with the Reformed doctrine of perseverance and finalapostasy. Calvin, Owen, and later Reformed theologians understood Johns warning as referringto those who, having once professed the faith, now renounce the gospel. Their sin is unto deathbecause they reject the only means of lifeunion with the Son. D. A. Carson observes,Apostasy is not merely moral failure; it is theological rebellionthe willful refusal to remain inChrist.⁰ This reading aligns with Hebrews 6 and 10, and with John 15, where branches that donot abide in the vine are cast forth and burned. Thus, the apostasy view safeguards bothbeliever assurance and Gods holiness, showing that genuine faith endures, while counterfeitfaith inevitably perishes.ApplicationIn summary, John distinguishes sins not by severity but by the hearts response to Christ. The sinthat does not lead to death applies to genuine believers, whose repentance and faith in Christpreserve them. The sin leading to death exposes false profession, whose persistent rejection ofChrist results in eternal separation. As we wrestle with these truths, let us remember the promiseof assurance: There is no comfort in the world comparable to the comfortable knowledge thatwe are accepted in the Beloved and that our salvation is secured in Christ. Richard Sibbes.Beloved, let this assurance anchor your heart as you face doubts, struggles, and the persistentreality of sin. Rest in the finished work of Christ, intercede for your brothers and sisters, andrejoice in the eternal life you possess.ENDNOTES John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, ed. W. R. Owens (London: PenguinClassics, 1987). John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Peabody, MA:Hendrickson Publishers, 2008). Tertullian, On Repentance, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, ed. Alexander Roberts and JamesDonaldson (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885).⁴ Origen, Commentary on the First Epistle of John, trans. Ronald E. Heine (Washington, D.C.:Catholic University of America Press, 1989).⁵ John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistles of John, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, FirstSeries, Vol. 14, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).⁶ Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,First Series, Vol. 7, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).⁷ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Peabody, MA:Hendrickson Publishers, 2008).⁸ John Owen, The Doctrine of Apostasy (London: John Rothwell, 1657).⁹ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: An Exposition of the Psalms, Vol. 2(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988).⁰ D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2000), 74. Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, in The Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 1, ed. Alexander B.Grosart (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2001).

The Role of Women in Church? 1 Cor. 14 Our tough text this evening is 1 Cor. 14:33b-35 which says, As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Why is this a tough text? Well, it certainly seems obvious why this passage is among the list of tough texts. What Paul says here has not only been called hateful toward women, it is directly at odds with much of our current cultural climatethat seems ever bent on not just blurring but dismissing gender definitions and roles. Our cultures insistence on this is so strong that it has many within the Church confused, such that many Christians at best have trouble knowing what to do with passages like this, and at worst many Christians no longer hold to traditional gender role distinctions. While we could, from this point, launch out into an entire evening on gender, the Church, and the Churchs role in the world, we wont. Rather, our focus tonight will be narrower, aiming more at what I think is the heart of the matter, the role of women in the Church. I want to focus on this because ones view on women in the Church is something of an orienting position. Meaning, where you land on this issue will by and large determine where you land on many other issues regarding gender. I also want to begin here because most of the modern gender debate begins right here with women. And Im convinced that if we begin on the right track, well stay on that track. So lets dig in. The Reformed tradition, rooted in the Protestant Reformation, has long wrestled with the practical application of biblical principles regarding gender roles within the church. While all branches of the Reformed faith affirm the spiritual equality of men and women as co-heirs of Gods grace and view both male and female as co-image bearers, the interpretation of specific NT passages concerning church leadership and public teaching has caused much debate. This discussion is not merely academic; it shapes the structure, ministry, and daily life of many churches around the world. The views on the role of women in the Church are most often understood in two major positions, complementarianism and egalitarianism. While the majority of believers fall in either of those camps, two more positions have emerged in our day that we need to discuss as well, soft-complementarianism and patriarchalism. Tonight Ill speak on all four of these positions. Of course I wont be able to say everything needed in our time, but it will serve as an introduction to the positions. Well begin with the major two positions, then moving on to visit the two smaller positions. Complementarianism If complementarianism were to have a motto, it would be this, equal in worth, distinct in function. Complementarianism is the dominant position within many conservative denominations. The core tenet of this view is that men and women are equal in essence, worth, and dignity, but God has designed them for different, complementary roles in the home and the church. Scriptural Foundation Where do they get this view? Complementarians base their position on two primary themes within Scripture: the created order and explicit NT patterns. The Created Order: the narrative of creation in Genesis 2 is interpreted as establishing a pattern of headship. The man was created first, and the woman was created as a helper, a term understood to teach us that the woman was made to be a necessary and powerful partner to the man, but made to have a distinct role from the mans. The fall of man in Genesis 3 is seen as a distortion of this original, good order, not where the origin of the order itself. Before the fall we see harmony. Adam leading, Eve submitting as helper, and all is well. After the fall we see tension. God speaks to this in Genesis 3:16 saying the womans desire will be against her husband, but nonetheless he would rule over her. Thus, in the complementarian view, this created order in Genesis 1-2 stands till the end of the world. New Testament Patterns: Pauls letters are considered the clearest articulation of the gender role restriction. The key texts are: 1 Timothy 2:11-14, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Here there is evidence of Paul grounding his words in the creation order (Adam first, then Eve) and the fall, rather than in the cultural context of Timothys church in Ephesus. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 14:34 which states that women should keep silent in the churches, is seen, not as a blanket statement regarding women and any speech coming from them, but rather as reinforcing the principle that women should not take on the authoritative public teaching role of the church. How is a complementarian view applied in the Church? The practical application of complementarianism centers on the ordained offices of the church of elder and deacon. While women are not restricted from the office of deacon because it is an office of service, women are restricted from holding the office of elder and pastor, because this is the office of teaching, of rule, and authority over the congregation. However, this is not a call or command for the marginalization of women. Complementarians strongly emphasize the positive and essential roles women are called to fill, which are seen as equally valuable and vital to the church's health. In a complementarian church, every role and office within that church is seen as open and available to women, except the role of elder. Egalitarianism If egalitarianism were to have a motto it would be, full equality in all roles. Egalitarianism, while a minority position in most conservative churches, is a robust and growing view within mainstream evangelical churches as well as liberal churches. This position teaches that gender is irrelevant to a qualifications for any ministry role, including the office of elder and pastor. Scriptural Foundation Where do they get this view? Egalitarians argue that the overarching narrative of Scripture, particularly the redemptive work of Christ, supersedes any perceived gender restrictions. They highlight Galatians 3:28 which says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Egalitarians teach that this verse ought to be interpreted as the definitive statement on the new order in Christ, which abolishes all distinctions within the Church, including those based on gender, making all roles within the Church equally eligible for both men and women. They also point to the examples of women in ministry found in the NT. Phoebe, who is described as a diakonos (deacon or minister) of the church in Cenchreae in Romans 16:1. They believe Junia is called an apostle in Romans 16:7. They point to Priscilla and Aquila who instructed Apollos in the way of God in Acts 18:26, demonstrating an authoritative teaching role. They point to the promise of prophecy in Joel 2:28 which says, Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and then are eager to point out that Phillips daughters prophesied in Acts 21. What do they do about the hard texts in 1 Tim. 2 and 1 Cor. 14? According to them, they do not ignore the restrictive passages but offer alternative interpretations that harmonize them with the rest of Scripture. For 1 Tim. 2 they say the restriction is contextual, addressing a local problem in Ephesus, such as women teaching heresy or usurping authority, or even just being disruptive in nature. For 1 Cor. 14 they say the passage is seen as addressing disorder in worship, disruptive questioning or cultural customs, rather than prescribing a blanket ban on all public speech from women. Some more critical egalitarian scholars also argue these passages werent written by Paul at all. So in an egalitarian church it is often the case that youll not only find women in authoritative leadership over the church, and in teaching positions within the church, but youll find women pastors in the church as well. So what have we seen so far? While the complementarian positions holds to equality in worth and a distinction in roles, the egalitarian position holds to equality in worth as well as gender roles being interchangeable between male and female. Now that these majority positions have been covered in some detail, lets move onto to the minority positions. Soft Complementarianism This position, often found in the more progressive wings of complementarian churches and does have some overlap with complementarianism. This position maintains the gender restriction only for the ordained teaching role in the lead pastor. But apart from that role, these churches seek to maximize the role of women in all other areas. A soft complementarian church will often allow women to teach mixed gender adult groups in Sunday school, various Bible studies, and on Sunday mornings as long as the woman teaching states she is not exercising final, authoritative, pulpit-level teaching and that she is remaining under the ultimate authority of the male eldership. It will often emphasize the spiritual gifts of women and hire non-ordained leadership roles to utilize those gifts fully, usually going by other labels as opposed to the traditional ones, like ministry director and the like, instead of pastor. Patriarchalism This position, often found in the far right wings of complementarian churches is the most restrictive position well cover tonight. Sometimes referred to as Gospel Patriarchy, this view does have some overlap with complementarianism. But it puts forward a system that emphasizes the comprehensive nature of male headship, that extends far beyond the ordained offices of the church. While complementarianism primarily focuses on the principle of male headship for the office of elder and pastor, patriarchalism applies the principle of male headship to all spheres of life, particularly in the family and in the public square. Because male headship is applied to all spheres of life, the role of women is generally restricted to just the home. This often leads to a strong discouragement of women pursuing careers outside the home, so that a wife can focus on her family. In the church this translates to a firm opposition to women teaching mixed adult groups, even in non-ordained capacities, and a general emphasis on female silence and visible submission in the form of a head covering in worship. Those then, are the four main positions on the role of women within the Church. Conclusion This debate is a complex and highly charged discussion, driven by not only different approaches to Scripture, but different political views as well. To me, there is only one faithful option in this list, and that is the position of complementarianism. Here are a few reasons why I think this. I think the egalitarian position is unbiblical. Its fueled by liberal theology and modern gender agendas within liberal politics. Yes we affirm Gal. 3:28, that in Christ there is no male or female. But we must see that verse in the context of Pauls letter to the Galatians rather than a blanket description about gender. In context then, Pauls point is that both men and women are held prisoners under the law (3:23), both are justified by faith (3:24), both are set free from the bonds of the law (3:25), both are sons of God in Christ (3:26), both are clothed in Christ (3:27), and both belong to Christ as heirs according to the promise (3:29). Pauls point is not that maleness and femaleness are abolished in Christ, but that sexual difference neither moves one closer to God nor makes one farther from Him. As for soft complementarianism, I also think it is unbiblical. Because it only seeks to apply the gender restriction to the office of the senior pastor. While not as far left as the egalitarian view, soft complementarianism is too far left from the Bibles view on these things. Which, seems to give the impression to me that it is a sort of half compromise with modern cultural thought. And as for patriarchalism, I think this too is unbiblical. Because the whole position, to me, seems to be rooted not in the Bible but in a far right response to the egalitarianism of the liberals as well as the soft complementarianism of mainstream evangelicalism. Now, be sure to hear me. Im not trying to be center on this issue, as if I believe being right or left are both bad. Being center is not my aim here. I want to be biblical. Thats my only concern. I do think complementarianism is the most biblical option on this topic, and that the others are merely a reaction or overreaction to it. I am a complementarian because[1] I believe the issue is about created order not accommodating culture or reacting to culture. I believe the issue is about function and role, not simply ordination. I believe the issue comes down to this: the complementarian cause would be far more successful in the family and the church today, not if women sit down, but if men actually stood up. [1] Kevin DeYoung, 9Marks of Healthy Biblical Complementarinism, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/9-marks-of-healthy-biblical-complementarianism/

Psalm 137, By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willowsthere we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs,and our tormentors, mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion! How shall we sing theLord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let mytongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! Remember, OLord, against theEdomites the day of Jerusalem,how they said,Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations! O daughter of Babylon,doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be whorepays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones anddashes them against the rock! Why is this a tough text? Psalm 137 is included in our list of tough text because of how it ends. While it begins in hard terms, full of suffering and sorrow depicting Israel as in misery remembering the promise land while off on exile, the Psalm ends with words of imprecation, or words of intense desired judgment and death to fall on their enemies. Words of imprecation are present in many Psalms. Psalm 137 is an example of one, and Psalm 69, 104, 109, and 139 are other examples of these kinds of Psalms. They are called imprecatory Psalms, coming from the Latin word imprecare which means to invoke harm or to curse someone. The question many have on reading Psalms like this is, What do make of these words? Did the Psalmist really mean them? Was it right for them to speak such words of judgment? Is it right for us to speak words of judgment like this about the people in our lives we would count as enemies? And perhaps the most pressing question of them all is, How do imprecatory Psalms mesh with, not contradict, Jesus command to love our enemies, forgive the sins of others, and the command to bless those who persecute us? All those questions and more are before us tonight. Throughout the history of the Church there have been a few ways Christians have approached and interpreted Psalms like this. Tonight, here is what Id like to do. First, Ill give you three reminders. Second, Ill go through some interpretive options, comment on each. Third, Ill commend one option to you over the others. And fourth, Ill offer some closing comments on imprecatory Psalms for our practical use today. Three Reminders Before diving into how to handle imprecatory Psalms, let me remind you of three realities we believe as Christians. First, all Scripture is inspired by God, inerrant, and infallible. We believe this all Scripture is of divine origin. That means we believe the imprecatory Psalms, are divinely inspired. Thus, these Psalms are not merely expressions of personal rage, revenge, or cruelty but are God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness as 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us. To dismiss them, ignore them, or deny them would be to question the nature of the biblical text. Second, covenantal realities work both ways. We believe God is a God who works through covenant. For those who come to the Lord, through repentance and faith, covenantal blessing is the result. But, while we affirm this we often ignore the opposite. For those who deny, refuse, or reject the Lord covenant curse is the result. God will indeed bless and save be merciful to all who come to Him, but He will also curse and judge and condemn all who dont. We believe this. Third, God is a God of wrath and judgment. We believe God is the God of all grace and the Savior of sinners, truly! Without this we are lost. But lets not forget that God is also a God is justice, a God of wrath, and a God who has enemies. Just as God will not let any law breaker go free in His justice, He also will defend His people from all their enemies in His vengeance. We believe this. The Options With those reminders in view, here are a smattering of interpretive options for imprecatory Psalms that Christians have held throughout the ages. Broadly speaking, four categories come into view. First, Literal Interpretations Some interpreters take the imprecations literally, viewing them as legitimate prayers for God's judgment upon the wicked. Yet there are nuances within this view. One view suggests that the imprecations are not expressions of human passion but prophetic utterances, foretelling the ultimate doom of those who hate and persecute Gods children. In this manner the psalmists are interpreted as speaking on behalf of God, warning of the consequences of unrepentant sin. Another view is that the enemies targeted in the Psalms are enemies of God rather than merely personal enemies of the psalmist. This would mean the psalmist would have interpreted opposition to himself as really opposition to Yahweh. Another way these Psalms are interpreted literally is that theyre seen as prayers for Gods justice to prevail, rather than for personal spite. Thus, the psalmists commits the matter to God's hands, trusting Him to avenge all injustices. Second, Critical Interpretations Historically, some scholars and theologians have viewed the imprecatory Psalms critically. This is to say, that they interpreted them as problematic at best, and at worst they see these Psalms representing a lower stage of ethics in the OT, which was later replaced by the NT emphasis on love for ones enemies. Examples of this are many. A Roman Catholic cardinal (Mercier of Belgium) in 1916 once commented on the imprecatory Psalms saying Christians are not to be of the OT, giving room to retaliation and that our lips are to demonstrate Christian charity by uttering no words of hate. Another more famous example is C.S. Lewis. In his work Reflections on the Psalms he said these curses reveal human qualities in their raw material, that these are nave and contain error. Also, Alexander Maclaren said there is a discordance between the temper of the psalmist and that enjoined by Christ which shows he believed the psalmist's temper was distinctly inferior to NT teachings. Third, Figurative or Hyperbolic Interpretations Some interpretations believe that the cursing language in the imprecatory Psalms should not be taken literally but understood as figurative or hyperbolic expressions of intense emotion and moral outrage. Meaning that the psalmists, who was experiencing deep suffering and injustice, expressed their raw emotions to God. These are interpreted, then, to be honest and passionate prayers rather than literal requests for specific acts of violence. This view usually cites Jeremiahs curses against the day he was born (Jer. 20:14-18) as an example of emotional hyperbole, which is certainly not meant to be taken literally. Those that interpret the imprecatory Psalms like this also argue that harsh-sounding prayers were common in the ancient Near Eastern world and that we, modern Western interpreters, should not impose our own views of politeness and decency on these ancient texts. And to their credit, there are plenty of examples from ancient Babylonian and Assyrian texts which show very similar expressions of curses. Fourth, Christological Interpretations This last approach interprets the imprecatory Psalms through the lens of Christ, viewing them as ultimately fulfilled in Him. Some interpret these Psalms as seeing the psalmists own suffering and cries for justice as a foreshadow of Christs own suffering and His ultimate victory over evil. Which means the judgment called out for is ultimately Gods judgment executed through Christ. This view also points out that while Jesus taught love for enemies (Matthew 5:44-48), the NT also contains imprecatory language. Acts 1:20 cites Psalms 69:25 and 109:8; Pauls anathemas in 1 Corinthians 16:22 and Galatians 1:8-9 come to mind as well. For those minded to interpret these imprecatory Psalms in this manner, this all suggests that the principle of divine justice remains, though its application for believers shifts from personal vengeance to trusting Gods ultimate justice at the end and praying for the advancement of His kingdom. Where am I on these four interpretive options? While there are many things to learn in each of these perspectives, I would never commend the critical interpretation, but in each of the rest (the literal, the figurative, and the Christological options) I do think there are good things to learn and lean into. If I were forced to pick one of these over the others I would choose the Christological option, because of how central the cross is in redemptive history, and because I believe all the cries present in the Psalms are ultimately answered by God in the Person and Work of Christ. Use for Christians Today Lastly, how can we use these Psalms today? Well, we certainly dont want to fall into the traps of ignoring or avoiding these Psalms because they seem so harsh or cruel. We dont want to drive a wedge between the OT and NT saying these things are a lower form of primitive religion. We must remember these Psalms are a part of the whole book of Psalms, and thus for us and for the Church in all ages. We can use these Psalms and go to them often in our own lives. How so? By learning from them. Very simply these are prayers, not curses. They are prayers asking God to do what He has promised to do in His covenantal dealing with mankind. They are prayers against Gods enemies, who are hardened sinners, who can only be redeemed by the gospel. But Jesus Christ the Lamb of God slain for us is also the Lion who will crush the ungodly and wicked in the end. In that way these prayers remind us of the reality of sin, injustice, and God's righteous judgment. And they can fuel our own prayers for God's justice to prevail when we see true injustice occurring. Three final encouragements. First, lets own and acknowledge our mixed motives in praying such prayers ourselves. Only Christ can utter these words and mean them in the way theyre intended to, devoid of personal offense or desire to retribution. Second, lets take great comfort in the face that these prayers display what we wouldve faced if we were lost and apart from Christ. All the judgment in these Psalms was taken by Christ on our behalf. Praise God! Third, lets understand that when we pray the Lords Prayer petition Your Kingdom come we are asking the same thing as all these imprecatory Psalms. If God were to answer our request and bring in His Kingdom in full measure, that means were asking Him to bring in the final judgment as well. So pray this we must (!), but we pray in great humility, knowing it is only by grace that we will not experience the judgment to come. Id like the final word before our QA to be from theologian Christopher Ash, teaching on imprecatory Psalms. He says, We need to understand that the judgment of God on the finally hardened and impenitent is a necessary and good part of the gospel. It is necessary because it is the essential precondition for the new heavens and the new earth to be a pure and holy place. It is good because it will resound to the glory of God. When Babylon a symbol for the whole anti-God system of the world falls in Revelation 18-19, the people of God do not weep; they sing hallelujahs with great joy. It is this they have longed for, and they grasp that God is glorified in it.

I. Introduction: The Mystery at the Heart of Divine and Human Agency Few subjects have provoked greater controversy in theology than the relationship between Gods sovereignty and human will. It is a question that has occupied philosophers, divided denominations, and humbled saints: How can God be absolutely sovereign over all things, and yet human beings act freely and be held morally responsible?The apostle Paul provides, in passing, a profound glimpse of the answer in 2 Corinthians 8:1617:But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. (ESV)In these two sentences, Paul compresses the entire mystery of grace and freedom: God acts first-He puts into Tituss heart the same care that Paul feels. Titus responds-He goes of his own accord. The text refuses to let us choose between divine sovereignty and human willing. God initiates; man responds freely. The paradox stands, not as a puzzle to be solved but as a window into the nature of divinehuman cooperation.This essay will explore how Scripture sustains this tension, how philosophy has distorted it, and how the Christian vision of freedom differs from every worldly notion of autonomy. II. The Common Misconception: God as a Being within the System The most basic error in understanding divine freedom arises when people imagine God as one being among others-simply the most powerful entity in the universe. In this view, divine and human wills share the same stage and therefore compete for control of the same events. The more God acts, the less man seems to.This conception collapses the Creatorcreature distinction, the very line that defines biblical reality. Peter Jones calls this worldview One-ism-the idea that everything, divine and human alike, belongs to one great continuum of being, an ocean of being. In this ocean, God is imagined as the largest whale surrounded by smaller fish. His strength would necessarily crowd out theirs; His will would nullify their freedom.But the God of Scripture is not the biggest creature in the ocean; He is the Creator of the ocean itself. His being is of another kind altogether. To confuse the two orders-divine and created-is to commit the oldest theological error in history: the sin of making God in our own image. III. The Zeus and Prometheus Analogy: Freedom as Competition This mistaken view of God can be illustrated by an ancient myth. Imagine Zeus upon Mount Olympus, thundering his commands. Below him stands Prometheus, the rebellious Titan who dares to defy the ruler of the gods. Zeuss power operates on the same plane as Prometheuss will; the more Zeus exerts his force, the less freedom Prometheus retains. Zeuss freedom displaces Prometheuss.Such is the pagan vision of divine sovereignty-freedom as domination. The might of the stronger robs the weaker of his agency. If we project this image onto the Christian God, we create a tyrannical deity, a cosmic Zeus whose sovereignty obliterates human liberty.But the Bible insists that God is not within the system at all. He is not one billiard ball knocking another. He is the foundation of the table, the cue, the energy, and even the laws of motion themselves. His freedom does not suppress creaturely freedom but sustains it. Without Him, we would not act at all. IV. Two-ism: The CreatorCreature Distinction Restored In Peter Joness Two-ism, reality is divided between Creator and creation-two fundamentally distinct orders of being. God alone is self-existent, eternal, and absolute; creation is derivative, contingent, and dependent.This distinction is not a barrier but a relationship. The Creator sustains the creatures being at every moment. When God acts, He does not intrude into the world like an external cause; He moves all things from within as the ground of their existence.Acts 17:28 captures this perfectly: In Him we live and move and have our being. Understood this way, divine sovereignty and human willing are not rivals but harmonious levels of causation. God is the First Cause; man is a real secondary cause. Gods sovereignty is not a zero-sum game; it is the condition that makes all creaturely action possible.Thus, when Paul says that God put into Tituss heart the desire to serve, he is not describing coercion but creation. Gods grace enables Tituss love. The more God acts, the more alive Titus becomes. V. False Freedom vs. True Freedom To grasp this, we must distinguish false freedom from true freedom.In Paradise Lost, Satan declares, Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. He defines freedom as autonomy-the right to do as he pleases. But the result of his rebellion is isolation, misery, and slavery to pride. Miltons Satan embodies the tragic irony of the fallen will: his quest for independence destroys the very capacity to love.By contrast, Psalm 84:10 proclaims: For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.The psalmist finds freedom in service. He is not diminished by obedience but exalted through it. To serve God is to live in harmony with ones created purpose.Here lies the heart of biblical liberty: Freedom is not the power to do whatever we wish but the ability to desire and to do what is right. The will liberated by grace is not neutral or autonomous but aligned with divine goodness. Only in union with Gods will can man be truly free. VI. The Illusion of Neutral Freedom: Sprouls Analogy R.C. Sproul, in Chosen by God, demolishes the myth of neutral freedom-the idea that the will can choose without any governing motive or inclination.He imagines a donkey placed perfectly between two identical piles of hay. Unable to prefer one over the other, it starves to death. This is absurd, yet it mirrors the concept of a will without bias. The will cannot choose in a vacuum; it always moves toward what the heart most desires.Sproul also invokes Alice in Wonderland, where Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which road she should take. That depends, the Cat replies, on where you want to go. If she doesnt care, it doesnt matter which way she walks. Choice is meaningless without direction.The biblical view agrees: the heart governs the will. Out of the heart flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23). Our choices reveal our nature. Thus, a fallen heart inevitably chooses sin; a renewed heart delights in righteousness. Freedom lies not in indifference but in transformation. VII. Jonathan Edwards and the Renewal of the Will No one articulated this truth more powerfully than Jonathan Edwards in his 1754 classic, Freedom of the Will. Edwards defined the will as that by which the mind chooses. He argued that every act of choice follows the strongest motive presented to the understanding-and that motive arises from the disposition of the heart.Hence, to be free is not to act contrary to ones nature but to act in accordance with it. A corrupt nature produces corrupt choices; a regenerate nature produces godly ones.This is precisely what Paul describes in Tituss case: God put into his heart The new desire was implanted by grace. Gods work did not override Tituss will but recreated it.Edwards wrote, The will always is as the greatest apparent good is. When God changes the heart, He changes what appears good-and thereby liberates the will.The sinner in bondage cannot choose holiness because he loves darkness. The saint, renewed by the Spirit, freely loves the light. Grace does not chain the will; it heals it. VIII. The Puppet Master Rejected: Divine Causation as Empowerment One of the most persistent caricatures of divine sovereignty is the puppet master image. If God determines human choices, are we not merely puppets on strings?The answer is no-because personhood is not mechanical. A puppet has no consciousness or moral responsibility. But humans are made in Gods image: rational, moral, and free.When Scripture says, It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), it describes empowerment, not manipulation. Gods sovereignty operates at a deeper level than physical causation. He moves the will from within, by transforming desire, not by bypassing it.The puppet analogy fails because it imagines God as one agent among others in a causal chain, rather than the author of the whole play. The human actor performs his role freely, yet the story unfolds precisely as the Author intends. Divine sovereignty does not eliminate moral significance; it guarantees it. IX. Exposition of 2 Corinthians 8:1617 Let us return to Pauls text.Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. The verb didōmi (put into) carries the sense of placing, granting, or bestowing. Paul credits God with initiating Tituss affection. It is the language of divine implantation, reminiscent of Ezekiel 36:2627-I will give you a new heart and cause you to walk in my statutes.Then Paul adds, For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord. The Greek word authairetos (literally self-chosen) emphasizes voluntary action.Thus, in one breath Paul attributes Tituss zeal to Gods sovereign work and in the next celebrates Tituss voluntary obedience. The grammar of grace unites divine causality and human freedom: what God ordains, the believer desires.This is the living out of Philippians 2:1213-Work out your salvation for God works in you. Gods work and ours are not sequential but simultaneous. His sovereignty energizes our freedom. X. The Logic of Paradox: Harmony, Not Contradiction Reason protests that if God determines all things, man cannot be free; and if man is free, God cannot determine all things. But this is a false dilemma created by the limits of creaturely understanding.From eternity, Gods comprehensive providence encompasses both the ends and the means-including the willing choices of His creatures.In the authors metaphor, God writes the play, and each actor plays its part freely. Put another way, the violinists bow is his own, yet the melody is the composers. Human freedom operates within the field of divine intention; the two do not cancel but complete one another.This is the logic of paradox-not contradiction, but complementarity. The mystery does not weaken faith; it deepens awe. What human reason cannot reconcile, worship can adore. XI. The Biblical Pattern: Sovereignty and Responsibility Intertwined From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture intertwines divine sovereignty with human responsibility:Genesis 50:20: You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Human intent and divine purpose converge in a single act.Exodus 9:12 / 10:1: Pharaoh hardens his heart, and God hardens it-both active, both true.Isaiah 10:57: Assyria, moved by pride, becomes the rod of Gods anger, unaware it fulfills His plan.John 6:37: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.Acts 2:23: Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, yet men crucified and killed Him.Philippians 2:1213: Work out your own salvation for it is God who works in you.The Bible never apologizes for holding both truths together. Gods sovereignty is absolute; mans choices are real. Every human act unfolds within the encompassing will of God, yet each person remains accountable for his own decisions. XII. The Pastoral Implications: Assurance, Humility, and Worship This doctrine is not mere speculation; it is profoundly practical.Assurance: If God works in the hearts of His people, their perseverance rests not on fragile willpower but on divine faithfulness.Humility: Recognizing that every good impulse originates in God leaves no room for boasting. Tituss zeal was a gift. So is ours.Worship: The believer sees in every act of obedience not self-achievement but grace realized.As Paul says elsewhere, By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). XIII. Conclusion: Freedom in Sovereign Grace The paradox of divine sovereignty and human freedom, so clearly revealed in 2 Corinthians 8:1617, is not an intellectual trap but a theological treasure. God moves the heart, and man freely responds. Grace does not coerce; it creates willingness.The gospel does not offer independence from God but communion with Him. The will that once resisted His rule now rejoices in it. True liberty is found, not in self-assertion, but in self-surrender.As Jesus declared, If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)The only truly free person is the one whose will has been captured by the love of God.

1 Cor. 11:2-16, Now I commend youbecause you remember me in everything andmaintain the traditionseven as I delivered them to you.But I want you to understand thatthe head of every man is Christ,the head of a wifeis her husband,andthe head of Christ is God.Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,but every wifewho prays orprophesieswith her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the sameas if her head were shaven.For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.For a man ought not to cover his head, sincehe is the image and glory of God, butwoman is the glory of man.Forman was not made from woman, but woman from man.Neither was man created for woman, butwoman for man.That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.Nevertheless,in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. Andall things are from God.Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor dothe churches of God. Why is this a tough text? This passage is included in the tough text series because this passage raises the question of head coverings. To cover or not to cover, that is the question. While this is certainly the main question in view, other questions and important topics arise in this passage as well. For example, here we see the headship of Christ over all mankind, the headship of a husband over his wife, and the headship of God the Father over God the Son during the incarnation. In addition to these we find Paul covering the appropriate actions of men and women in worship, the appropriate (proper, natural) length of hair for men and women, and generally speaking how all this impacts our worship. And lets not forget v16 either, the call and command for brothers and sisters in Christ to not be contentious about their views on head coverings in worship. So what Id like to do tonight is work through this passage, verse by verse, comment on it, give my thoughts on the two prominent views of this passage, and conclude with a variety of what I think are helpful principles to glean from this passage. Introduction (v2) Now I commend youbecause you remember me in everything andmaintain the traditionseven as I delivered them to you. Here Paul commends the church in Corinth, for what? For remembering Paul in all their actions and for maintaining the traditions Paul taught them. Many Protestants believe traditions are negative things, and there is truth to that. Elsewhere Paul speaks of the traditions of men that ignore Christ (Col. 2). But here in v2 he is not referring to negative or sinful traditions of men, but traditions that he himself taught the Church. This could refer simply to Pauls preaching and all he taught them, but I think it rather refers to certain practices Paul believed were good and useful for the Corinthians to adopt. Here he commends them for heeding his counsel. The Foundation (v3) But I want you to understand thatthe head of every man is Christ,the head of a wifeis her husband,andthe head of Christ is God. Paul truly commended these Christians for following him on many points, thats what v2 means. But here in v3 Paul isnt commending them, hes correcting them. What is he correcting them about? Here in v3 he speaks on headship. He explains headship in three ways. First Paul speaks of Christ being the head of every man, meaning Christ is the Lord over all, not only as the head of His body the Church, but the Lord before whom every knee will bow. Second Paul speaks of the husband being the head of his wife, not meaning to say the husband is greater while the wife is inferior, but that when it comes to authority in a marriage it is the husband who carries the authoritative role while the wife embraces a submissive role. Third Paul speaks of God the Father being the head of Christ the Son, not meaning that the Father is greater or more important than the Son who is inferior, but that during the incarnation the role of the Son truly was to submit Himself to the will of the Father in all things. Paul says these things in v3 because of what he is about to say in the rest of the passage. So here Pauls laying a foundation of understanding the difference between authority and submission. The Main Argument (v4-5a) Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,but every wifewho prays orprophesieswith her head uncovered dishonors her head Here Paul makes his main argument, and its all about head coverings. One note on coverings first. Its helpful to know how head coverings were used in the culture in and around Corinth at this time. Three quick things. a) in pagan religious ceremonies prominent and wealthy men would pull their togas up over their heads to cover them. b) in this time a woman who covered her head in social or religious settings did so to indicate that she was married. In this she was seen as honoring her husband. So too a married woman who refused to cover her head would be seen as dishonoring her husband. c) a married woman who refused to cover her head in social or religious settings was automatically identified as being rebellious or promiscuous. Because of this many men and women in Corinth did not know what was proper and improper in worship regarding head coverings. Enter Paul. His main argument in v4-5 is a simple one. A husband who covered his head in worship was acting like the prominent pagan men of the time, so in worship Paul says a man should not cover his head, so as to not dishonor Christ. So too, a wife who uncovered her head in worship was acting like the rebellious women of the time, so in worship Paul says a woman should cover her head, so as to not dishonor her husband. Reason #1 (v5b-6) since it is the sameas if her head were shaven.For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. Paul gives his first reason here for why he said what he did in v4-5a. Simply put, a wife with an uncovered head in worship is culturally shameful. Pauls logic is clear. Step one, Paul says a wifes uncovered head is the same as having a shaved head. In this time the penalty for a woman who was arrested for adultery would be the shaving of her head, which would publicly shame her for having a hair that looked like a mans. Step two, Paul says a wife with s shaved head is disgraceful, which implies again that a wife with an uncovered head is disgraceful. Step three, therefore, a wife should cover her head. Reason #2 (v7-9) For a man ought not to cover his head, sincehe is the image and glory of God, butwoman is the glory of man.Forman was not made from woman, but woman from man.Neither was man created for woman, butwoman for man. Now Paul adds another argument, one from the original design of men and women. In v7 he affirms what he already has said, that a man should not cover his head. But now he adds more reason to it. The reason a man should not cover his head is because man is the image and glory of God. Contrasting that is woman, who Paul says is the glory of man. This doesnt mean women are not made the image of God, not at all. The issue here on one hand is how a man may honor or shame Christ, while on the other hand how a woman may honor or shame her husband. In v8-9 Paul adds more. Men and women are not interchangeable. God made woman from the man and for the man, thus woman is the glory of man, while man is not the glory of woman. This how we were made. Paul uses this argument from creation that transcends culture and applies it to the Corinthian context, specifically about head coverings. Reason #3 (v10-12) That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.Nevertheless,in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. Andall things are from God. In v10-12 Paul gives us another reason for his main argument by saying, because of all these things it is right for a woman to have a symbol of authority on her head because it demonstrates that she is indeed gladly under authority. He adds women should do this because of the angels Im honestly a bit puzzled why he would say this. It either refers to actual angels who watch over the Church with great interest, observing all we door the word angel means messenger (original Greek), implying that those who witness men and women acting disgracefully in worship will give a bad report to others in the community. v11-12 is Pauls brief reminder that men and women need each other. We are not interchangeable, yes. But were also interdependent beings, needing one another. Final Reason (v13-15) Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. Pauls final argument is an appeal to what is natural or proper for men and women. In v13 he asks a rhetorical question, in which were meant to see that it is indeed improper for a wife to pray with an uncovered head. v14 adds to this saying it is proper or natural for man to have shorter hair, and for a woman to have longer hair. This implies that it is improper and unnatural for men to have longer hair and for women to have shorter hair. This argument is a creation principle. Paul is teaching the Corinthians that God made men and thus men should live like and look like men. So too God made women and thus women should live like and look like women. As a general rule and a principle from nature, Paul is saying it is proper for men to have shorter hair and women to have longer hair. Nature teaches us this. As woman is the glory of man, now we read in v15 that long hair is the glory of a woman. Paul even then states that her long hair is given to her by God as a covering. Now, this wouldve stood out in Corinth because Corinth was a place that blurred the distinction of men and women. God desires these gender lines to not be blurred in His Church. Hence, we find all this discussion about hair length, head coverings, and how men and women were made so that the Christian men and women in Corinth would live like how God intended them to. Word of Caution (v16) If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor dothe churches of God. This final verse is important because Paul doesnt want the Christians in Corinth to be combative over this issue. Rather, the Church is to characterized by faith, hope, and love. Why would anyone be contentious about this issue? Because it gets at the heart of what it means to be men and women. Another reason people get contentious about this issue is because they differ on how to interpret this passage. Its clear that men should uncover their heads in worship, and its clear that women should cover their heads in worship, but what constitutes that covering? Is it an actual covering? Or is it a womans hair? I think its her hair, some believe otherwise. Should we get combative about this? Paul says no. In summary, I do not think this passage teaches a definitive argument for literal head coverings for women in worship that stands as a timeless requirement for the whole Church. In some circles there has been a bit of a resurgence of head coverings in worshipbut I'm not persuaded. I understand the feminist movement in the 60s changed things in our culture, but it is impossible to pin the lack of head coverings entirely on that movement!Most of the head covering movement seems like an overreaction to the feminist movementjust like Christian nationalism overreacts to the modern woke movement. I think this passage is all about headship, honor and shame, and proper behavior in worship. I think Paul is primarily concerned with maintaining, respecting, and celebrating gender distinctions in worshiprather than a specific custom that is binding on all generations. Two quick principles to takeaway from this passage: First, Honoring Marriage and Authority The head covering in Corinth indicated that a woman was married. No such parallel exists today with modern fashionable head coverings. So, I think we can honor the head covering principle today by encouraging married women to wear whatever symbolizes being married in their own cultures. Second, Honoring God in our Design God made us male and female in the beginning. We should honor such a design by maintaining the two gender distinction in our daily living and in the Church. We affirm that both male and female were made in the beginning in the image of God, different and complementary of one another, not interchangeable. So too anything we do to blur this gender line in life and worship is unbiblical. For men: it is improper for a man to act like a woman, or to dress like a woman, or to have long hair. Men are to be men. For women: it is improper for a woman to act like a man, or to dress like a man, or to shave her head. Women are to be women.

1 Peter 3:18-22 says, For Christ alsosufferedonce for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,that he might bring us to God, being put to deathin the flesh but made alivein the spirit,in whichhe went andproclaimedto the spirits in prison,becausethey formerly did not obey,when God's patience waited in the days of Noah,while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is,eight persons, were brought safely through water.Baptism, which corresponds to this,now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body butas an appeal to God for a good conscience,through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,who has gone into heaven andis at the right hand of God,with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Why is this a tough text? As is easy to see, this passage present numerous difficulties. First, in v18 we dont have a difficulty we have a glorious and wonderful statement about the end and purpose of the death of Christ. Specifically, that Christ suffered once, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God! That last phrase of v18 refers to Jesus, being put to death in the flesh on the cross, but made alive in the resurrection by the Spirit. All of this, I think, is clear. Now the difficulties then begin. First, in v19 what does it mean that Christ preached to the spirits in prison? Does this mean that Jesus, after His death on the cross descended into hell and preached a sermon? If so, what was the sermon about? His victory over death? Or was He preaching the gospel, offering the spirits in hell a way out of hell? If this doesnt mean He descended into hell and preached a sermon there, what does it mean? Many questions here. Second, in v20 what does the reference to Noahs days mean, and why does that come after v19? Does this comment about Noahs day change how we interpret Jesus preaching to spirits in prison? If so, how? If not, what does it mean? Third, in v21 how does baptism correspond to Noahs day mentioned in v20, and what does it mean when it says baptism now saves you as an appeal to God for a good conscience. Does this teach that baptism saves you? If so, how does that not contradict the rest of Scripture? If it doesnt mean that baptism saves, what does it mean then, and what does it have to do with our consciences? Fourth, in v22 how does the resurrection and ascension of Christ function in this context as a conclusion to the passage? Taking all these difficulties together, many claim this passage is one of the most complex and debated passages in the entire Bible. As weve done before in our handling of these tough texts, Ill lead you through a variety of interpretive options, comment on them, and conclude with some final thoughts. Option 1: Ancient and Medieval Church Views During the early Church and medieval age, interpretations of this text differed greatly, which reflects the developing of doctrine throughout the ages, especially regarding the doctrine surrounding Person and Work of Christ and the nature of the afterlife. -Augustine: he acknowledged the difficulty of this passage and proposed a symbolic interpretation, suggesting that the spirits in prison represent unbelievers in Peters own time, with the historical event of Noah's flood serving as a type of impending judgment. He argued that Christ's proclamation to the spirits was a pre-incarnate spiritual preaching through Noah to the disobedient generation before the flood, warning them of impending judgment. He questioned the logic of Christ preaching only to those who died in the flood and rejected the idea of Christ emptying hell of all souls after preaching to them. Regarding baptism, Augustine is something of the forerunner to the modern Roman Catholic view of baptism, because Augustine taught that baptism was necessary to give to infants in order to cleanse them from original sin. More pertaining to 1 Peter 3 and his views on baptism Augustine would say that salvation through water (as seen in the flood and Noahs ark) prefigures Christian baptism, which itself appeals to God for a good conscience through Christ's resurrection. -Athanasius: contrasting Augustine's symbolic view, Athanasius, held to a more literal interpretation. He suggested that Christ, after His death, literally descended into hell to preach to the souls there. Regarding baptism, Athanasius emphasized its transformative power and its connection to the Trinity. He taught that baptism regenerates the soul, because of its participation in Christ's death and resurrection, and because of that it is also a means of receiving the Holy Spirit. More pertaining to 1 Peter 3 and his views on baptism Athanasius held and taught the same view of Augustine, that salvation through water (as seen in the flood and Noahs ark) prefigures Christian baptism. -Medieval Catholic View: the broad medieval Catholic view, influenced by the Apostles Creed affirmation of a descent into hell, understood 1 Peter 3 to teach Christs literal descent to hell to proclaim salvation to the righteous who died before His coming, thereby liberating them. Some believed Christ descended into limbo, and others said sheol to preach and liberate captives. Others believed the proclamation of Christ was a proclamation of victory and salvation, not a second chance for the damned. Regarding baptism, the medieval Roman Catholic church was follow Augustines view on baptism. -Thomas Aquinas: Aligning with Augustine, Thomas Aquinas also held the view that Christ's preaching was pre-incarnate preaching, done through Noah. This interpretation believes that the eternal Son of God, who later became incarnate as Jesus, spoke through Noah to the people of his time. Regarding baptism, Aquinas believed baptism should be placed on the infant and that all Christian baptisms did four things to those baptized. First, baptism removes all sin both original and actual. Second baptism infuses grace and virtue enabling the baptized to live their new life in Christ. Third, baptism imprints an indelible spiritual mark on the soul, which is a participation in Christ's priesthood. And fourth, Aquinas taught baptism unites the individual to Christ making them a member of His body, the Church. More pertaining to 1 Peter 3 Aquinas believed Noah's ark prefigures baptism as a salvific power through Christ's resurrection, which leads to a good conscience. Option 2: Modern Day Roman Catholic View Modern Roman Catholic theology generally believes a view consistent with the historical understanding of Augustine and Aquinas, believing in Christ's literal descent to the place of the dead where He proclaimed His victory and salvation to the righteous souls who had died before His resurrection, liberating them and opening the gates of heaven. The spirits in prison are understood as these righteous dead, awaiting the Messiah. This view denies that Christs preaching offered any kind of second chance of salvation to those who rejected Him in life, but rather was the culmination of Christs redemptive work for those who died in faith prior to His coming. A less common, but still discussed, interpretation within Roman Catholicism suggests that Christ's proclamation was to fallen angels, announcing His triumph over them. This view draws on early Jewish writings like 1 Enoch, which links fallen angels to the disobedience in Noah's day. Option 3: Historic and Modern Protestant Views Reformed interpretations generally deny with the literal post-death descent to the dead view, and affirm Christ's pre-incarnate work or a proclamation of triumph to spiritual entities. Yet even these views have their differences. One widely held reformed interpretation, put forward by John Calvin and Francis Turretin, believes the spirits in prison refers to the wicked unbelieving people of Noahs day. It is these unsaved wicked souls that Christ preached to through Noah. These denied such preaching, and are thus now suffering judgment being that they are spirits in prison. To back this up they cite 2 Pet. 2:5 which calls Noah a herald of righteousness. They cite 1 Pet. 1:11 which says Spirit of Christ was preaching through the OT prophets, which presumably includes Noah. This view also likens Noahs day to Peters day, in that just as Christ was preaching to a minority that would be saved in Noahs day, so too Christ is preaching now to a persecuted minority now, who will be saved, and to whom Peter is writing to. Another widely held reformed interpretation, taught by John Owen, teaches the spirits in prison are fallen angels. In this view, it is the sons of God from Gen. 6:1-2 who are in mentioned in 1 Peter 3 as the spirits in prison. So Christ, descended to hell prior to His resurrection, to proclaim His triumph over these demonic powers, who were involved in the wickedness of Noah's day. This view is eager to cite 2 Peter 2:4-5 which they say agrees and explains this passage further saying, For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment, if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly This view also is eager to remind us that almost every use of the term spirits in the NT is referring to supernatural beings rather than people. Lastly, another very much smaller reformed view, teaches that Christ descended to hell after His death to offer a second chance of salvation to those in hell. Though held by some, it must be rejected for how it denies loads of other passages of Scripture. Regarding baptism, all of the Protestant views deny the Roman Catholic teaching (Augustine/Aquinas) and affirm that the salvation through the waters of judgment in the flood of Noahs day prefigures Christian baptism, and that each time we see a baptism in the NT church that same reality is symbolized. Protestants deny that baptism itself saves, but rather teach Peter to be saying that what baptism represents, namely faith in Christ, is what saves us. This is then evidenced or displayed in the pure and good conscience of the Christian. Interestingly enough, though there is loads of disagreement here, most everyone agrees on v22. That it clearly teaches how Christ has now ascended to the Fathers right hand, where He sits in power and rule and might and has all authority over all angels, authorities, and powers. This, everyone says, is a grand statement about Christs triumph. Let me end with this. Though this passage is famously difficultand weve seen why. But in all the interpretive debates, the center shines clearly:Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.Whether were wrestling with the meaning of spirits in prison, Noahs flood, or the meaning of baptism, the main takeaway should not be lost. Jesus has triumphed through His death, resurrection, and ascension. He has secured salvation, brought us safely through judgment, and now reigns with all authority.

Matthew 12:22-32, Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.And all the people were amazed, and said,Can this be the Son of David?But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.Knowing their thoughts,he said to them,Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul,by whom doyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.But if it isby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, thenthe kingdom of God has come upon you.Orhow can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeedhe may plunder his house.Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, butthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.And whoever speaks a wordagainst the Son of Manwill be forgiven, butwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either inthis age or in the age to come. Why is this text a tough text? When reading this passage its clear the difficulty comes from v31-32 where Jesus refers to not only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but that those who commit such a sin will not be forgiven. This is the famous passage that speaks of the unforgivable sin. And many Christians, upon reading this text, truly struggle. Why? Because they wonder if theyve committed this particular sin and being unsure what Jesus really means here, the same Christians then grow anxious about their eternal state, fearing that they may be living under some kind of delusion of thinking theyre Christians on their way to heaven when in reality theyre lost on their way to hell. As for all of these tough texts, there are options of interpretation. So in our time tonight I will give you the options for this passage, make some comments on each one, and then give you some final words on this thorny issue. I want to give you three options tonight, and you might be surprised to hear me say it, but all three options are good options held by godly men and women. Option 1: Andy Naselli view This view is represented by an article on The Gospel Coalition website written by Andy Naselli, one of their writers. Though it represents one interpretive option it is a common and popular view among many interpreters. What does this view teach? This view teaches that the unforgivable sin is specifically what the Pharisees did in Matthew 12, attributing Jesus miracles to Satan. We see this in v24 of Matthew 12, which says, But when the Pharisees heard it (referring to the miracle in v22), they said,It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.This view says the Pharisees statement in v24 is a deliberate, conscious choice to reject the Spirits clear witness to Jesus in the miracle itself, not just by denying it, but by saying it was Satan who really performed it. Naselli comments further saying the Pharisees clearly saw undeniable evidence of Jesus power in this miracle. And instead of submitting to Him and bowing before Him as they should have done, they declared this was the work of the prince of demons. This wasnt ignorance, it was willful rejection. A refusal to embrace with their hearts, what their eyes clearly saw. Naselli concludes that their sin is unforgivable because it reveals a final hardened unbelief present in them, which reveals Gods hardening work on those who continually reject Him. This isnt a modern view alone, it was originally held by the early Church theologian and preacher Chrysostom. For Chrysostom, any attributing the work of God to Satan is demonic and unforgivable. Naselli is keen to encourage tender consciences though, by reminding us at the end of his article that those who worry about committing this sin should be encouraged because their worry is evidence that they havent. If you have committed this kind of sin, you wouldnt worry about it. The kind of rejection here is temporary doubt, or a struggle with sin, not even like Peters denials here, but a decisive knowing rejection of Christ. Option 2: John Piper view This view is represented by John Piper, from many different sources. Over the years he has taught on this passage many times, and written about it in various articles and books. Particularly helpful to discover and trace out his view is his sermon Beyond Forgiveness: Blasphemy Against the Spirit. In this sermon Piper makes the argument that the unforgivable sin is a settled hardened resistance to the Spirit, so deeply entrenched in the soul that the Spirit withdraws His convicting work. Without this work, repentance is truly impossible, and without repentance, forgiveness is impossible as well. In the sermon I just referred to Piper says, The unforgivable sin is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven. As Naselli did in the first view, Piper also stresses that this sin isnt just one slip of the tongue or a moment of doubt. Its a deep, ongoing resistance to Gods Spirit. From this Piper warns us against sin. He says this passage warns us against toying with sin in all possible ways. The longer we resist obedience to the Lord, the more well sin, and the more we sin, the more numb well grow to the things of God. Once we get to that point well refuse to heed the inner conviction of the Spirit which will in turn harden our hearts more toward the Lord and increase sins grip on us. You should know this isnt just a modern view, it was originally held by the early Church theologian Origen. Though at times Origen interpreted this text in Matthew 12 allegorically, he most often spoke just like Piper speaks here. Piper also encourages us that if you fear youve committed this sin, that very fear is evidence you havent. Only a soft heart worries about it, while a hardened heart refuses to worry about much of anything. At this point you might wonder what the difference between the first two views are. While there are overlapping realities in both these first two interpretive options, the emphasis is different. Naselli believes the unforgivable sin is what the Pharisees did, attributing the work of God to the devil, while Piper believes the unforgivable sin is not so much what the Pharisees did as it is a settled hardened resistance to the Spirit, so hardened in fact that the Spirit withdraws His convicting work. Naselli focuses more on the action of the Pharisees, while Piper focuses more on the heart behind these actions. Option 3: R.C. Sproul view This last view is represented by R.C. Sproul. Like Piper he has taught on this many times, but mainly his view is clarified in his book Hard Sayings, chapter 15 titled The Unpardonable Sin. There Sproul makes the following argument. Sproul teaches the unforgivable sin isfinal, hardened unbelief. Its not one particular utterance or moment of sin, but a settled refusal to embrace Christ that ends at death. He does what neither of the other options does, when he says clearly that the only sin God will not forgive isrefusing His only way of salvation, Jesus Christ, through the Spirits testimony. One can sin grievously, but until they physically die, the opportunity to repent is always possible, if God in His sovereignty chooses to save the sinner. Again, this isnt a modern view only, it was originally held by Augustine. Like Sproul did our own day, Augustine did in his, emphasizing that the unforgivable sin does not just to apply to the Pharisees but applies more broadly, to anyone persisting in sin long enough to die in it without repenting. Others who held views very similar to this are Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. Sproul emphasizes, as the others do, that only unbelievers can commit this sin. Believers may sin grievously like David, and many others, or even deny Christ like Peter, and yet they are restored by repentance. Unbelievers, if they remain in their unbelief, will never repent, hence, they will never be forgiven. Sprouls large concern here is assurance. He often tells of how he speaks to encourage Christians anxious about this unforgivable sin. He tells them thatif they are in Christ, they cannot commit this sin.The Spirit has sealed them and will not let them go. But for unbelievers, however, the danger is real: reject Christ until your dying breath, and forgiveness will no longer be available. Conclusion: What have our three interpretive options showed us? First, Andy Nasellianchors the unforgivable sin in the context of Matthew 12, namely, calling Jesus Spirit-powered works satanic. Second, John Piperhighlights the danger of hardening our hearts until repentance is impossible. And lastly, R.C. Sproulgives pastoral assurance that the only unforgivable sin is dying in unbelief. All three of these views find their origin in theologians from Church history, and all three are truly good options. Common to all three options is that the unpardonable sin is not a one-time slip or moment of weakness. It is not ordinary doubt, or even serious sins like murder or adultery. It is a settled, willful rejection of the Spirits witness to Christ. And if you fear youve committed it, that very fear is proof you havent. So what are we to take away from this tough text in Matthew 12? We can takeaway both warnings and comforts. First, the warnings: -Dont play with sin. It hardens the heart. -Dont resist the Spirit. When He convicts, repent quickly. -Dont slander the works of God. Speak carefully about what is and what is not the work of the Spirit. -Dont presume upon grace. A heart that refuses to repent may one day find repentance impossible. Second, the comforts: -Every sin, every failure, every blasphemy, every denial canbe forgiven in Christ. -If you fear youve committed this sin, that very fear is proof you havent. A tender conscience is the Spirits gift. -The Spirit who drew you to Christ will keep you in Christ until the end. So let this passage drive us not to despair, but to a deeper trust. Dont resist the Spirit, run to Christ. Dont harden your heart, humble it. Dont doubt Gods mercy, believe it. Because heres the good news: the only unforgivable sin is refusing the only forgiver. But to all who come to Him, forgiveness is full, and free, and forever.

When you go out to war against your enemies, and seehorses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for theLordyour God iswith you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.And when you draw near to the battle,the priest shall come forward and speak to the peopleand shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them,for theLordyour God is he who goes with youto fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has notenjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit.And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say,Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.When you draw near to a city to fight against it,offer terms of peace to it.And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.And when theLordyour God gives it into your hand,you shall put all its males to the sword,but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, youshall take as plunder for yourselves. Andyou shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which theLordyour God has given you.Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. Butin the cities of these peoples that theLordyour God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes,butyou shall devote them to complete destruction,the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as theLordyour God has commanded,thatthey may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so yousin against theLordyour God. When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it,you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls. Introduction: Why is this a tough text? Much of this passage might seem like normal rules for war that would fit any nation and almost any context throughout history. For much of history, and especially for Israel in this Ancient Near Eastern context, war was a normal part of life. Some of you know this more than others. If you have been in the military or have a family member or friend in the military you know more than most about the ins and outs of war. Much of this text falls into that category, and most people apart from pacifists believe this kind of war can be morally justified. Regular Bible readers are used to much of this kind of language as well. In v1-4 God promises to be with His people as they go out to fight, and because of that they dont have to fear, because God will fight for them. In v5-9 God even allows different categories of people to go back home and leave the warfront. In v10-15 there is an offer of peace extended to conquered foes, a command for tribute to be made to Israel, and a charge to make the defeated people slaves to Israel. If they refuse to submit to these commands, Israel was to kill all the men of the city and plunder all their goods. Theres even a command to not cut down all the trees at the end of this chapter in v19-20. Again, language like this isnt all that surprising to read. The tough part of this text comes in v16-18 when God gives commands for a certain kind of war. A war where God commands His people to devote His enemies to complete destruction. Where no man, woman, or child is to be left alive. Where nothing that breathes is to remain. What are we to do with this? Questions abound here: is God a moral monster for commanding this? Is this just an example of primitive barbaric religiosity? Does this bring into question the credibility of the OT? Does this bring the doctrine of inerrancy into question? Does this reveal that the God of the OT really is different than the God of the NT? Well touch on some of these, but perhaps the main question in view tonight is this: is this genocide or is this holy war? This is the tough text before us tonight. What are we to think of this? Well, as you can imagine there are options on how to interpret this passage and others like it. Five options to be specific. For the rest of our time, Id like to take you through those five options, critique and comment on them while also encouraging you toward two of them over the others, and finish with some conclusions to keep in mind. Option 1: Re-Evaluating God One very common way to interpret texts like this in our modern day is to conclude that the warfare presented here is nothing more than unwarranted violence, and that God who commands this must, therefore, be re-evaluated. This God is either wicked Himself, or He simply doesnt exist altogether. In effect making the warfare here a prime example of one people using their own religious dogma to fuel, not just hatred of other peoples, but to justify the entire slaughter of other peoples. In this view the religious dogma itself is the problem, making the remedy the removal of all religion in the world. If this occurs, peace will reign and war will end. Much like the song Imagine by John Lennon. It should go without saying this is not a good option to take on this text. It is generally only taken by those who embrace an atheistic worldview. Thus, this view is at odds with and contradicts every tradition of Christianity. It is overly utopian and unrealistic. Option 2: Re-Evaluating the OT This second option is yet another very common way to interpret this passage in our modern day. While the first option throws God into doubt for His seemingly barbaric ways, this second option throws the Bible into doubt for the same. But there is some nuance to notice with this view. Rather than casting doubt on the whole of Scripture, this view believes our passage tonight and all others like it are either not authoritative texts or not historical texts. There is some variety in this view, and the differences tend to come down to what the interpreter believes about the inerrancy of the Scripture. Remember inerrancy is the doctrine that teaches there are no errors in the Bible. So for example, one person who falls into this second option could hold to a form of inerrancy yet deny that these texts were ever a part of the original due to seemingly severe nature of our passage. This would make the rest of the Bible inerrant, just not in these passages. Another example would be one who denies inerrancy. This person would believe our passage is an example of a place where the Bible does contain an error due to seemingly severe nature of it. As before, it should go without saying this interpretation is also not a good option to take on this text. There does seem to be a struggle within the individual who takes this view to see the Bible as being from God in a way. But ultimately this passage is denied due to how it offends a persons sensitivities. Option 3: Re-Evaluating Interpretation This third interpretive option does uphold the inerrancy of the Bible and does try to honor God in handling this passage, but this view does some gymnastics with the text. Instead of taking the passage on its own terms, within the genre of historical narrative that it comes to us in, this interpreter says the language in Deut. 20 is to be taken hyperbolic or metaphorical, instead of taking it literally. In effect making the conquest of Canaan more a spiritual reality than a physical reality. Now, there are problems with this view. First, while I do believe there is much hyperbole and metaphor in the Bible, this text isnt one of those places. It is clearly within historical narrative and thus ought to be taken literally. Second, this interpretation doesnt do anything to solve the seeming problems of this text. Even if you take this view, there are still dead Canaanites you have to deal with, and this view tends to shy away from that. Third, this view ends up attempting to soften the hard edges of the text using other kinds of speech found in the Bible. It just isnt a very plausible view. Option 4: Re-Evaluating Violence This fourth interpretive option upholds the nature of Scripture, seeing it as inerrant. It desires to honor God and not diminish Him in anyway. And desires to not soften away any hard edges in this passage. What does this view do with the language of the text? It affirms it, and it teaches that God truly did command the holy war on Canaan, saying the violence doled out on these peoples wasnt barbaric but morally warranted. In other words, this option teaches that the peoples in the land of Canaan were so sinful and wicked, that God commanded them to be purged from the land. The land, by the way, that God gave to His people. So for the unique purpose of keeping His people pure and holy, ensuring that they would not be infected by the sins of the pagan peoples around them, God gave the order for the holy war. This view makes sure to state this was a unique command, to be given in this moment only, and should not be seen as a justification for any kind of religious war after this point. This is a good view. Many hold to this view, citing other similar examples like the flood in Noahs day and Sodom and Gomorrah where God carried out similar cleansings. And dont forget the same kind of violence that brought Gods people into the land, God also used against His own people later on in the exile as punishment for their own sins. But, while this is a good view, I see a problem with it. There is a difference with those events and this event, that I dont think this view reckons with. In the flood and at Sodom and Gomorrah it was God Himself who carried out the cleansing, while here He commands His people to do it themselves. This is one reason why those who hold onto the first three views do not like this view, because it gives the impression that God is forcing His people to do wicked acts. But I think that such a critique is easily defensible. Option 5: Herem Warfare This last option, to me, seems to be the best option. It teaches everything that option 4 does, but it adds something more to it that is unique and needed in order to understand this tough passage. It introduces the reality of herem warfare. Herem is a Hebrew word that refers to anything and everything the Lord desires to be devoted to destruction in warfare. This word herem comes from v17. There we read you shall devote them to complete destruction. This phrase in Hebrew is two words, herem heremam. It means as we see here in the ESV, devote to destruction, or destroy them utterly, some translations even say, set apart as an offering to the Lord. This is nothing less than a declaration of divine warfare, for the express purpose of cleansing the promise land of its sinful residents so that Israel could move in. Deuteronomy 7:1-9 makes the same point as our passage does here in chapter 20, including the phrase devote the peoples of the land to complete destruction. Also, this view makes sure to mention that herem warfare was a common reality in many nations in the ANE. So in this fifth interpretive option, Israel was called by God to herem warfare, that is, they were to utterly destroy everything that had breath in the promise land. In their war against the sinful pagan peoples, God was cleaning house for Israel to move in. Unholy people taken away, Israel comes in. A holy land, for Gods holy people. The land is Gods, the judgment is just, and Hes preparing it for His people. The problem, this view maintains, was that Israel didnt do as thorough a job as God desired, and left many pagan peoples in Canaan, which eventually proved to be thorns in their side. Conclusion: These then, are the five options generally put forward to understand the tough passage of Deut. 20. Again, I do not think this is genocide, it is holy herem warfare. This imagery will later taken up throughout history in positive/negative ways. Negatively, this was something of the incentive given for the things like the crusades. I call this a negative use of herem warfare because it was just meant for a time. Gods people now no longer belong to one nation, but believers of all nations. Thus, we do not fight to extend any geo-political border or nation here on earth. The Kingdom of God moves forward spiritually. Positively, this image of herem warfare would be taken up by many puritans to describe how God works in the soul of His people to make them holy. They would describe like this: how do we grow in grace and mature in the Lord? Yes, we give ourselves to the Word, to prayer, and to the fellowship of the saints. But in these things we trust that God is waging war on all the sin hiding and lingering in the deep crevasses of our souls. This He does, in us, for us, that we would more resemble the image of His Son.

Thereforelet us leavethe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentancefrom dead works and of faith toward God,and ofinstruction about washings,the laying on of hands,the resurrection of the dead, andeternal judgment.And this we will doif God permits.For it is impossible, in the case of thosewho have once been enlightened, who have tastedthe heavenly gift, andhave shared in the Holy Spirit,andhave tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,andthen have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, sincethey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.Forland that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.Butif it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed,and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better thingsthings that belong to salvation.ForGod is not unjust so as to overlookyour work and the love that you have shown for his name inserving the saints, as you still do.And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assuranceof hope until the end,so that you may not be sluggish, butimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Our first question tonight is Why is this a tough text? It is clear on reading through it why this is such a difficult passage. It says many things that seem problematic, it raises questions that are difficult to answer, and it seems to teach things that contradict many other passages of Scripture. While the beginning and ending of this passage seem fairly straightforward, the difficulties are mainly found in v4-8. Let me begin by saying this. The book of Hebrews is wonderful. Its rich in theological depth and practical application. It was written to Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and were tempted to abandon Christ. So the author's primary aim is twofold: first, to demonstrate the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. And second, urge these Christians to persevere in their faith and grow in spiritual maturity. This passage, 6:1-12, is truly one of the most debated and, for some, unsettling passages in all of Scripture. Our goal tonight is not to shy away from the difficulties but to engage with them thoughtfully, seeing the full counsel of God's Word to shape our understanding and strengthen our assurance in Christ. By the end of this study, I pray not only that our understanding clarified, but that our faith will be deepened, and that we would grow in our own assurance as well. Here's the plan for tonight. First, well briefly examine v1-3. Second, well linger on v4-8 seeing the difficulties, asking our questions, and giving possible answers. And third, well briefly look at v9-12. v1-3 To understand the beginning of chapter 6, we must turn back to the end of chapter 5. There in the end of chapter 5 the author of Hebrews teaches us the difference between the mature believer and the immature believer and the difference in their spiritual diets, milk and solid food. As chapter 6 begins that same idea carries forward with a call to spiritual maturity in v1-3. Leaving behind elementary things and pressing forward to maturity in our faith. Thats the call. And in v3 we find that we will grow and mature in our faith, if God permits it. So right away as this tough text begins we see how God is sovereignly at work in our lives as Christians. v4-8 Here we come to it. And right away one can see the numerous difficulties present. This seems to teach about one who enjoyed so many Kingdom benefits but was ultimately removed from the Kingdom for falling away. This raises important questions like: can we lose our salvation? What do all the characteristics mean in v4-5: once being enlightened, tasting the heavenly gift, sharing in the Spirit, and tasting the goodness of the Word of God, and the powers of the age to come? Does that mean they were a Christian? What does it mean to have fallen away? Why is it impossible for such a person to be restored to repentance? How would that be a re-crucifying of Christ? As is the case in many tough texts, options for interpretation abound. So, in that light here are three options for this text. Interpretation 1: The Plain Sense (Arminian) It is right and good of us to begin with a view of this text that takes this text on its own, as it stands, with no qualifications. This view, held by many of an Arminian persuasion, believes that if a true believer commits apostasy and falls away, even after enjoying all the benefits mentioned here in v4-5, that they do indeed lost their salvation, such that they cannot come back at all. Those who hold this view believe they are being faithful to the plain sense of the text, and that any who disagree with this plain sense are twisting to text to a set of preconceived theological opinions. So in sum, this first view believes the warning here exists to do just that, warn true Christians that they can truly fall away. Interpretation 2: The Hypothetical Warning (Piper) One interpretation views the warning in Hebrews 6:4-6 as hypothetical. This perspective argues that the author is suggesting a hypothetical scenario. The argument is that if it were possible for a truly saved person to fall away in such a manner, then indeed, their restoration would be impossible because it would entail a re-crucifixion of Christ, which is absurd. Proponents of this view often point to verse 9, where the author states, Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better thingsthings that belong to salvation. This verse is seen as the authors clarification that his audience, being true believers, are not the ones in danger of this ultimate apostasy. The warning thus, serves as a powerful deterrent and a means by which God preserves His elect, not as an actual real case scenario. It highlights the heinous nature of rejecting Christ after having experienced abundant exposure to the truth, and it underscores the seriousness of perseverance. The warning is real and serious, but the outcome for the elect is secure due to God's preserving grace. Interpretation 3: External Profession/Participation (Sproul) A second prominent interpretation believes the individuals described here to be those who are part of the visible covenant community, but who are not necessarily truly regenerate. This view highlights the distinction between external participation in the blessings of the church and internal, saving faith. The five attributes listed in v4-5 are interpreted as describing a profound external experience with Christianity, but not necessarily internal regeneration. Once been enlightened can refer to intellectual understanding of Christian truth, and exposure to the true gospel. Unbelievers can be intellectually enlightened to theological truths. Tasted the heavenly gift could refer to partaking in the Lord's Supper, experiencing the benefits of being in a Christian community, or receiving common grace blessings, none of which necessarily indicate saving faith. Shared in the Holy Spirit could refer to experiencing the outward manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit (e.g., prophecy, miracles), which can be given to unbelievers (e.g., Balaam, Saul, Judas), or simply being part of a community where the Spirit is active. It does not necessarily imply the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that accompanies regeneration. Tasted the goodness of the word of God refers to hearing and understanding the preached Word, perhaps even being emotionally moved by it, but without genuine conversion or submission to its authority. Tasted the powers of the age to come could mean witnessing or experiencing miraculous works associated with the coming kingdom of God, again, without personal salvation. According to this second view, the warning is directed at those who have had significant exposure to the truth and blessings of God within the covenant community but have not truly embraced Christ in saving faith. Their apostasy is severe because of the light they have received and rejected. The analogy of the land in v7-8 seems to supports this: the land receives rain (blessings/exposure to truth) but produces only thorns and thistles (unbelief/apostasy), indicating a lack of true fruit and ultimately leading to judgment. This interpretation aligns with 1 John 2:19, which states, They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. The warning serves as a diagnostic tool, revealing the true spiritual state of those who fall away. Also, this view emphasizes that the nature of the Church here in earth is and will always be a mixed bag. That is, a mixture of the sheep and the goats, or the wheat and the chaff. This means there will be those within the Church who are part of the body visibly, but are not part of the body invisibly. These unbelievers in the mix might be phonies masquerading as believers, or they might think theyre true believers but are dreadfully mistaken. The severity of the language here emphasizes the inevitability of a continued persistent rejection of Christ after having received significant light and experienced the blessings of the covenant community. It is a warning against hardening one's heart to the point of no return, a state where repentance becomes impossible not because God is unwilling, but because the individual has utterly repudiated the only path to it. Conclusion? While these three interpretations offer distinct interpretations of this text, there is some overlap and commonality between them. Ultimately, I land in the third interpretation, that this warning here is for those who have had significant exposure to the truth and blessings of God within the covenant community but have not truly embraced Christ in saving faith. they are not mutually exclusive and often complement each other within Reformed theology. But, there is a common thread to see in them all. Namely, the passage serves as a profound and serious warning. Whether hypothetical, descriptive of external church members, or directed at the Old Covenant context, the warning in this passage encourages us in many ways. 1) It encourages us to persevere in faith by showing us the severe consequences of apostasy. 2) It encourages us to examine our own faith, giving us a diagnostic tool to test the sincerity of our faith. 3) It encourages us to magnify Christ's sufficiency, reminding us that there is no other way to be saved apart from Christ, and to reject Him after such exposure is to reject the only means of grace. v9-12 Now briefly, see how the passage ends in v9-12. After delivering such a robust warning, the author of Hebrews shifts to assurance, showing his pastoral heart and the true intent of the preceding verses. These verses provide significant comfort and clarify that the warning in v4-8 was not intended to teach us about losing salvation but is intended to spur us on to perseverance. Rich pastoral words of assurance abound here. The author calls his readers beloved, a term of deep endearment that contrasts sharply with the severity of the warning. He expresses confidence in better things, things that belong to salvation concerning them. This strongly suggests that he does not believe his audience is composed of apostates or those in danger of irreversible falling away. Rather, he sees evidence of true faith and spiritual life among them. The author also appeals to Gods just character, stating that God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints. This is an affirmation of God's faithfulness to His people. God sees and does not overlook the genuine expressions of faith and love demonstrated by His saints. This is not a statement about earning salvation through works, but about the evidence of salvation showing itself in good works, which God graciously acknowledges and will not forget. The desire of the author is for his readers to continue showing the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end. Assurance is not a passive thing but something to be pursued through persevering in faith. The goal is to avoid becoming dull, a term used earlier in 5:11 to describe their dullness in hearing. Instead, they are to be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. In v9-12 functions as a comforting counterpoint to the preceding warning. It reassures genuine Christians of their secure standing in Christ, it highlights Gods faithfulness to His people, and exhorts them to continue pursuing full assurance and spiritual maturity.

Introduction: Ephesians 4:25-32, Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of youspeak the truth with his neighbor, forwe are members one of another.Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,andgive no opportunity to the devil.Let the thief no longer steal, but ratherlet him labor,doing honest work with his own hands, sothat he may have something to share with anyone in need.Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may givegrace to those who hear.Anddo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,by whom you were sealed for the day ofredemption.Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Now, before getting to the text itself we must answer the question, why is this a tough text? On the surface of things it seems fairly straightforward, but is it? In v26 we find the first mention of anger in this passage, where were told to be angry and dont sin. So it seems anger and sin are two separate categories. But then in the rest of v26 we read the sun isnt supposed to go down on our anger, so does that mean anger is sin, or that were never to let anger be stirred up in us for very long? And more so, in v27 what does the devil have to do with our anger? Are we giving him an opportunity in our anger to hurt us or trip us up in someway? And then in v29 we see the only kind of talk were to allow out of our mouths is talk that builds up and doesnt corrupt or hurt others. Does that necessarily mean anger and angry talk is out of bounds for Christians? v30 then provides what might be the key to this whole section, when it says were not to do or say anything that would grieve the Holy Spirit, what does that have to do with this anger? And finally in v31 we find Paul instructing us to put away all bitterness and wrath and anger. All in all this text is a tough text, because of its seeming contradictory teaching on the place of anger in the life of the Christian. The big questions is this? Whats does Paul teach on anger here? Is there good anger? Or is all anger inherently sinful? My argument will be as follows. If we were honest, wed all admit that we know anger far too well. That fiery emotion that flares up when we feel wronged, frustrated, disrespected, or hurt. But I do not think anger is always bad. I think theres a good anger and a bad anger, and understanding the difference is essential for the Christian life. Tonight, Id like to show you that very thing. That anger, in its purest form, is not inherently sinful. The problem isn't anger itself, but how our fallen sinful nature distorts anger. We often find ourselves angry about the wrong things, and perhaps even more dangerously, were often not angry enough about the things that truly grieve Gods heart. So when your heart starts to heat up, Scripture doesnt just say dont feel that. It says, Be angryand dont sin. Tonight well learn how grace can train our anger to honor and not grieve the Holy Spirit. Tonight, we'll explore what Paul teaches on anger, and from his teaching I think well be able to: 1) understand the biblical definition of anger, 2) be able to diagnose our own anger, and 3) discover a path towards redeeming our anger, transforming it from a destructive force into a tool for righteousness. Lets begin working through the text. v30 provides a framework from which we can interpret the whole passage. There Paul tells us of the reality that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Think on that. At our conversion it was the Holy Spirit who applied the saving work of the Son to us. It was the Spirit who awoke us from our graves of sin. It was the Spirit who baptized us and brought us into union with Christ. It was the Spirit who indwelt us. It was the Spirit who sealed us in Christ. And now it is the same Spirit who continues to apply the saving work of Christ to us. The Spirit still revives us, keeps us, grows us, teaches us, sanctifies us, and even prays for us. If we obey the Lord and live in light of His commands, we honor the Spirit who resides in us. But v30 is sobering. If we disobey the commands of Christ we will grieve the Spirit. We could interpret this as grieving in the sense of injuring or harming, but I think its better to speak of our grieving the Spirit in the sense of causing the Spirit to be burdened or pained by our sin, just as a parent grieves when their beloved children stray. This reality in v30, as I said, provides a framework for our whole passage. There are four arenas in which we can honor or grieve the Spirit: truth-telling (v25), labor and generosity (v28), kindness and forgiveness (v32), and then anger (v2627, v29, v31). Ill cover the first three quickly and then well camp out on anger the rest of our time. Truth Telling (v25) In v25 Paul provides the initial command. Because we are members of one another, all being united to Christ our Head, we must always do two things. First we must put away what is false, and second we must only speak what is true to one another. If we do this, well honor the Spirit, and if we dont do this well grieve the Spirit. Labor and Generosity (v28) Next, in v28 Paul instructs us against theft, saying honest work should occupy our hands, so that we have something to share with one another, instead of stealing from one another. Again, if we do this, well honor the Spirit, and if we dont do this well grieve the Spirit. Kindness and Forgiveness (v32) In v32 were given the command to be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving toward one another, because God in Christ has forgiven us. If we do this, well honor the Spirit, and if we dont do this well grieve the Spirit. Anger (v26-27, v29, v31) Now come back to v26-27. There we read much. First we receive a command Be angry and do not sin Here Paul is not being innovative, hes quoting Psalm 4:4. There are various ways to translate this phrase, but note that in the top 17 English translations of the Bible, only 1 removes the form of command. The ESV, the NIV, the KJV, the NKJV, the CSB and others all translate this in the form of command Be angry Only the NLT removes the form of command and says Dont sin by letting anger control you In this we see how important it is to translate things properly. Here the NLT leads one away from the meaning and intent of Paul while the other translations keep us on the right track. But to be more generous to those who do read this translation we could simply say the NLT captures the warning while the other translations preserve the imperative. Now, the English is good, but what does the Greek say here? Since the Greek is the original, seeing what it does here might settle this for us. And it does. In the Greek here Paul uses the imperative form, not the indicative form. Do you know the difference between those? Imperatives give authoritative command, while indicatives give facts or state opinions. One of my own Greek textbooks says There is no more forceful way in the Greek language to tell someone to do something than the simple imperative. Thus, we now know what v26 is. Its a command from God, Be angry and do not sin This is further proved by the fact that in the Bible we see God Himself angered by sin. You dont have to look too far to find this: God is angered by Noahs generation, by Sodom and Gomorrah, by the actions of Egypt as they enslaved and oppressed His people, and by the other nations around Israel in their pagan idolatry. We see Jesus get angered in the gospels too: cursing the fig tree, flipping the tables, weeping in a rage outside Lazarus tomb, and more. And I think we also see the Holy Spirit get angered in a sense as we grieve Him in our disobedience, or as James 4:5 says the Spirit yearns in us jealously when we sin. Now one could say here, Well ok. God is perfect, and God always does anger rightly. Because were sinners, shouldnt we always try to avoid anger? That is an understandable response to this. God is perfect and God does always do anger in the right way. We are sinners and almost always do anger in the wrong way. Yet, in the Bible we see godly men and women angered by sin. Moses in Exodus 32 throws down the tablets before the people at the golden calf incident. Phinehas gets angry enough in Numbers 25 to intervene and stops sin from spreading in the camp. Samuel is rightly angry at Saul many times, for not obeying God and taking matters into his own hand. David is angered as he hears Goliath blaspheme Gods name before Gods people, and David is angered when he sees no one standing up to do anything about it. More so, prophet after prophet is angry with either Israel or the nations around them for their various sins. Paul is angry at the Galatians for abandoning the gospel. Paul is angered by Peter when he avoids the Gentiles for fear of the Jews. And on and on. Bottom line: godly anger is motivated by a deep concern for God's reputation and glory, rather than personal offense. Godly anger is directed at injustice, evil, and sin, seeking to uphold God's standards of righteousness. While anger can be a sin, godly anger is not, as it is motivated by love for God, others, and a desire to see things restored to God's will. All of what I just said is true, but see more in v26. Im very glad for those final few words because it reminds us that anger, though not sinful in and of itselfcan easily lead to sin. This not only reminds us that godly anger is a true sign of spiritual health, it guards us from allowing anger to go too far in us. How does this work? Anger typically begins with a godly anger at sin and its effects on ourselves, on others, or on the world. So we see the sin, we properly hate the sin, and we mourn over the wreckage that it has brought. That is what godly anger looks like. But if this anger is held onto, or nursed within us it will turn sinful, usually by becoming way too personal. So what began properly can truly become deeply sinful. The puritan Thomas Boston once said that when anger becomes this personal to us and turns foul, that this kind of anger is evil in itself, and dishonorable to God; being the vomit of a proud heart and un-meek spirit. Or as v30 reminds us, if we do this rightly, we honor the Spirit, but if we dont well grieve the Spirit. v27 also guides this anger. Meaning, while anger can be true and godly, if held onto long enough it will become a snare for us. Lest the Devil take it and run with it, the day our anger is stirred up should also be the day we deal with our anger. Godly anger will happen in us, and in a sense the Christian is to always be angered by sin wherever we see it. But if we let it harbor inside of us, so that it grows into sinful anger, thats the kind of anger we must rid ourselves of lest we give opportunity to the Devil. Now, what about v29? Does that contradict v26? No it does not. In v29 when Paul says let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, he means it. Dont let anything that hurts or harms others leave your mouth. Does that include anger? Yes, if the anger is sinful and fueled by personal offense. But v29 does not include anger that is godly. That kind of anger, is actually helpful to hear. But what about v31, where Paul says let all wrath and anger and malice be put away from you, does that contradict v26? Again, no it doesnt. We should put away every single ounce of ungodly anger in us, because it will only hurt others and ourselves. But, no Christian should ever put godly anger, for godly anger imitates God who does get angry at sin. In fact, I think too many Christians need to be more angry at what angers God, and that anger ought to stir us to love and good works of all kinds in the world. Conclusion: To end, here are some simple questions to aid you when youre angry -Am I angry because Gods honor, truth, or a neighbors good has been harmedor because my ego or preferences were crossed? -Is my anger proportionate to the offense? Does it stay tethered to love and justice, or does it escalate toward contempt or revenge? -Am I dealing with it today, or nursing it into bitterness? -Where will this angry energy lead? Toward a gospel response, prayer, or toward venting, attacking, and scorekeeping? Church, while its good to ask these questions. More so, Id say in anger we need to remember the gospel. Only a forgiven heart can handle anger without being consumed by it. Anger usually leads us to explode or implode. Only the cross shows Gods holy anger against sin and His merciful love for sinners. As v32 says, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Intro to Tough Texts What do you do when you read the Bible and you come across a verse that makes you stop and think, Wait a minute, did God really say that? Do you skip it? Do you wrestle with it? Do you doubt? Do you close your Bible in frustration? Or do you pray and ask God for help? All of us have faced these moments, and those moments are what this series is all about. It is good to be with you all this evening as we embark on a new evening sermon series. As many of you know the series this is called Tough Texts, and in this series we will be looking at just that, passages in the Scripture that are difficult to handle. A few weeks ago we announced that we would be beginning this series in our various small groups, and we asked many of you to think about passages that they find difficult. Many of you went home, thought about this, and you came prepared to our most recent members meeting where I asked you to share them with me. Many passages were shared, but only 13 were selected for this sermon series, at least for this fall. I am eager to get to these texts and start working through them with you, but tonight is all about introductions. So in our time together tonight I want to tell you where we'll be going, and tell you the texts that were chosen, but I also want to tell you about the hard reality of difficult passages in Scripture, and I want to tell you why I did not choose certain passages. Let's begin there. There were many passages given to us that I did not choose, here's a few reasons why. First, I did not choose topics that were given. Meaning, I tried to stick with texts, actual messages in the old or New Testament that people find difficult. For example, someone shared that they would love to hear about the difficult topic of divine sovereignty versus human responsibility. I think that's a great topic. I think that's a needed topic. But it is a topic rather than a text. There were other examples like this, that were more a general topic then a specific passage of scripture, and while those would be good studies in and of themselves that's not really the aim of this series. Perhaps at a time in the future we can do a series called tough topics where we are not zeroed in on a specific passage of Scripture but are rather thinking more broadly and systematically through a topic presented to us in the Scriptures. All this to say, my aim was to choose specific texts rather than specific topics. Second, I did not choose texts that are near our current Sunday morning series. We are currently going through the book of Exodus in our Sunday morning gatherings and so if anything was near the book of Exodus or found in the book of Exodus I did not choose it for this series. Why? Because while those are specific texts, they are texts that we will come to and deal with in the near future in our time together on Sunday mornings. For example, someone shared that they would love to hear the passage explained in Exodus chapter 4 where many puzzling things occur. There the Lord seeks to kill Moses, there is a swift circumcision, followed by Moses's wife throwing the foreskin of that circumcision at Moses's feet, and her calling him a bridegroom of blood. This is certainly a tough text, but it is a text that we will come to very shortly on Sunday morning. Another example, someone shared that they would love to hear an explanation of the entire passage of the 4th commandment, concerning the Sabbath rest that God commands His people to make a regular part of their week. That also is a classic example of a tough text, but it's one that we will be hitting together Lord willing in 2026 on Sunday mornings. So rather than dealing with it here in the evening as well as dealing with it in the morning we will just leave things like that to the morning series. Third and lastly, I did not choose texts that were given from the book of Judges. This is not because I dislike the book of Judges and this is not because I think the book of Judges is inappropriate for us to study. On the contrary I love the book of Judges and think it's very appropriate for us to study in our time together. The reason I did not select any texts from the book of Judges is because there were so many texts given that come from the book of Judges, so many in fact we couldve spend half our evening series in that book. Apparently SonRise has loads of questions about the book. So it would not be a bad idea to consider actually going through the book of Judges sometime soon as a church, perhaps we can do that this coming Spring. That way we not only will be given the opportunity to learn from the entire book of Judges, but we will get to work through every single one of those texts that were shared and given for this series. So to summarize what I did not choose for this evening series: I did not choose anything that resembled a topic, I did not choose anything from, near, or related to our Sunday morning sermon series, and I did not choose anything from the book of Judges. Now, what did I choose? Here is the list: 8/24 Anger in Paul? (Eph. 4:26-31) 8/31 Losing Salvation? (Hebrews 6) 9/7 Holy War or Genocide? (Deut. 20) 9/14 God Hates Sinners? (Psalm 5 / 11) 9/21 Did Jesus Descend into Hell? (1 Pet. 3:18-22) 9/28 Head Coverings? (1 Cor. 11) 10/5 God Regrets? (Gen. 6 / 1 Sam. 15) 10/12 Free Will? (2 Cor. 8:16-17) 10/19 Imprecatory Psalms? (Psalm 137) 10/26 Reformation Movie night 11/2 Role of Women in the Church? (1 Cor. 14) 11/9 Sin Leading to Death? (1 John 5:16-17) 11/16 Hating Family? (Luke 14:26) 11/23 Will All Israel be Saved? (Romans 11:25-26) Lastly, I d like end by discussing the hard reality of tough texts. And to do that I'd actually like to take you to a text. So if you have your Bibles open to 2 Peter 3:15-16, And countthe patience of our Lord as salvation, just asour beloved brother Paul also wrote to youaccording to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction,as they do the other Scriptures. Notice right away what Peter says. He is honest about the contents of Scripture. He isnt shy about it, he doesnt try to hide it, or cover it up, no, he tells us plainly that there are passages in Scripture that are hard to understand. Not only notice how Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture, but notice how Peter is honest about Pauls writings, that there are portions of them that are hard to understand. If even the apostle Peter found this to be true of Paul, we will as well. Now, since this is true for Paul. Can we not apply this to the whole of Scripture as well? I think we can. How do we respond to this? Should we ignore those passages? Or throw in the towel and give up when we come across them? Not at all. Even though theyre hard to understand, we should work at understanding them better. The easy thing to do would be to do what Peter says some do in this passage. the ignorant and unstable twist the Scripture to their own destruction This shows us what not to do with tough texts. We should not interpret them in such a way that is ignorant or unstable. What do the ignorant and unstable do with the Word? They interpret the hard passages, the tough texts, not by reading them for what they are, no. Instead they twist them to suit their own desires, and thus make plain their own destruction. Do not do this with tough texts. Read them for what they are, rather than interpreting them in an underhanded manner. In this we see why this is not just an academic exercise, handling the Scriptures rightly really is a matter of life and death. Lord willing, part of my aim each week as we work through these texts is to demonstrate how to handle the text in an appropriately God honoring manner, rather than an unstable and ignorant manner. So we have see that tough texts exist, and what not to do with them. But lets go further. R.C. Sproul, in his book Hard Sayings says tough texts can be classified into three categories. First, a passage can be a tough text if it appears to be harsh to us in its meaning. So if a text jolts us, shocks us, or we have a kind of shrinking back from them, they are a tough text to us. Well deal with a few of these kind of tough texts in our evenings together. Second, a passage can be a tough text if it is hard to understand. While the first category of tough text is clear just difficult to swallow, this next category of tough text is different in that they are texts that are very difficult to unravel. Well also deal with a few of these kind of tough texts in our evenings together. Third, a passage can be a tough text if it is controversial in the history of interpretation. Whats an example of a text being controversial in its interpretation? Well, that kind of brings us back to the first two categories doesnt it? If it a text seems harsh to us, or if a text seems like an unsolvable puzzle, we will see a mass of interpretive options throughout the history of the Church. One last encouragement and then Ill take some questions. One way to grow in Christ and in the knowledge of the Scriptures thats not talked about very muchis focusing on the tough texts. Think about it. When you come to a text that seems greatly puzzling to you, you have a choice. The easy road is to ignore it and move on, staying close to those portions of Scripture you do find easy to understand and digest. But will you grow like that? I mean, its always great to read the Bible, but if we only ever read those parts of it that we find easy to understand, well likely only ever stay in the shallow end of the biblical pool. But if we make the harder choice, and face those texts, really leaning into them and trying to understand them, the odds are that well end up understanding them and growing in our knowledge of God and the Scriptures. So too when you come to a text that seems offensive to you, you have a choice. If youre so offended by it that you avoid it altogether or even close your Bible for a long time, you wont ever come to understand that portion of Scripture. But if you make a different choice, and face those texts that seem offensive to you, you might just find out the reason why it seems so offensive to you. Which means youll have gained new insight not only about God, and about the text, but about yourself too. With this new knowledge you can repent and ask God for help in this particular area, and youll grow. So heres my plea to you in this series. Dont run from the tough texts. Dont shrink back when youre offended, or confused, or even angry at what you read. Instead, press in. Lean forward. Trust that even in the hardest passages, God has good for you to see and embrace. By doing this together, I believe well come out not just wiser, but more in awe of God, more humble before His Word, and more in love with Christ.

Watch at: https://youtu.be/sVD_z4HWKYA

Watch at: https://youtu.be/v-BUDavMfQ0