| Our verse to DATE the Word on February 15 (2/15) is Philippians 2:15 |
|---|
| Philippians 2:15 says, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, |
| In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus instructs His disciples (this includes you) to be lights in the dark world. Recall His words from Matthew 5:14-16. It states, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The Apostle Paul here in Philippians 2:15 makes the same appeal to “SHINE as lights in the world.” Paul’s instruction for shining as a light to the world comes with instructions for allowing the light to be bright. We must pause and go back to verse 14 to get the full picture. Please note as you read Philippians 2:14 you will see a comma at the end of the verse, not a period. Philippians 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, (comma) v15 that you may become….. What will they become? Blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, For the Philippian’s light to SHINE brightly to the world Paul instructs them to stop complaining (or murmuring or grumbling) and arguing with one another. Paul is basically very positive in his letter to the Philippians but in several verses, he does address the division and divisiveness and the disconnect present in the church at Philippi. Wanting the Philippians to shine as a light to the world Paul tells them to stop the pettiness and the divisive fighting with each other. These actions were giving them a bad testimony. For Paul, a good testimony was going to make the greatest impact. To have this good testimony he wanted them to become BLAMELESS. This means the door for attacking one’s character is closed. They can look into your closet, but they will not find anything. Daniel and Job are examples of living blameless lives. He wanted them to be HARMLESS. This means no one is going to be harmed. Let us think about that for a moment. A lost person sees Christians ATTACKING one another. They have to wonder if they show up at a church will they be attacked? The bickering and backbiting of believers will undoubtedly cause the lost to feel unsafe. What Paul is ultimately after is that the Philippian believers would be without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse world. To be without fault is to be without blemish. Not perfect, but living in such a way there is nothing for the lost to say bad about them. In other words, they have a good testimony. With the good testimony, they can now SHINE in the DARKNESS! And the place for LIGHT to SHINE is in the DARKNESS. Believers are to be AMONG those in darkness. Let that sink in. BTW – like Paul, Peter conveyed this message and he too was concerned first about the believers’ BEHAVIOR. Look at 1 Peter 2:12 as it states, “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Having honorable conduct sounds like someone has a good testimony. And who is seeing their good testimony? The lost. They are seeing the testimony because believers are AMONG the lost. I beg you not to miss this. We must not be like the lost, but we must be with the lost! When we ISOLATE ourselves from the lost, we are hiding our light under a bushel basket! We are still in the world to be a witness for the Lord to this world. Friends, we are instructed to shine the light of the glorious gospel to a dark, sinful world. When we are no different than the world in how we treat each other the light is dimmed. But when we live a blameless life, loving and respecting one another the light of the gospel is bright. What changes do you need to make to shine your light bright to the lost world? Verse to DATE the Word on February 15 (2/15) is Philippians 2:15. It says, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” Now sing: This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel – NO! I am going let it shine until Jesus comes! Continue Strong SHINING BRIGHT for JESUS And remember to DATE THE WORD |