"Rejoice in the Lord, Always" -- Philippians 4:2-9

The Eighth in a Series of Sermons on Paul's Letter to the Philippians

Many have identified the main theme of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi as the often-repeated exhortation from the Apostle to “rejoice.”  This is borne out by the fact that the words for “rejoice” and “joy” occur a dozen times in Paul’s brief Philippian letter.  Paul is writing to a church (in Philippi) which he helped to found, and which is now enduring a difficult season of persecution from without (Greco-Roman pagans) and from within (a group of newly arrived Judaizers).  Paul’s ultimate intention is to encourage the Philippians to do those things necessary to stand firm in the face of this opposition–among other things, they are to have the same humble attitude as Jesus did, they are to strive to love one another, and they are to be of one mind and one accord.  But why would Paul repeatedly exhort the Philippians to rejoice when times of difficulty have come upon them?  What does Paul mean by “rejoicing,” and how are we to rejoice in time of trial?  It is important to consider this carefully, because most of us can recount times when well-meaning Christians have told us and others “to rejoice” during times of suffering and loss.  Far too often someone telling us to rejoice when life has turned sour can easily take on a tone of smugness or triteness, which, of course, is far from what Paul actually means.  

We have come to that point in our series on Philippians when it is time to address the manner of how we ought to read the so-called “practical sections” of Paul’s letters.  This will be a refresher course for many of you.  This will help to understand why Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians (and to all Christians) to rejoice in the midst of our trials and difficulties should make perfect sense to a Christian who understands the distinction between the law and the gospel (or the indicative and the imperative moods).  This distinction is so important to get right (and so difficult to do at first ) that Martin Luther once quipped that anyone who mastered these distinctions should be immediately awarded their doctoral cap and gown.  This is one the most fundamental distinctions in all of Christian theology.  Philippians 4:2-9 (our text) which includes Paul’s final and repeated exhortation for Christians to “rejoice” provides a good test case to illustrate this distinction.  

The law of God (the Ten Commandments) requires us to do certain things–the law says “do.”  When we fail to do these things, or do the opposite of what is commanded by God, we sin and are therefore guilty before God.  The gospel, on the other hand, announces to us the good news that God freely gives to us in the person of Jesus, all the things he demands of us under the law.  If the essence of the law is “do,” the essence of the gospel is “done.”  In Jesus and his saving merits, all that God commands us to do has already been done by Jesus, for us, and in our place.  Through faith, his obedience becomes ours.

The imperative and indicative moods are closely related to the law and gospel.  Imperatives are commands–“do this.”  We find them throughout the Bible, and in Paul’s letters they tend to come in the second half–the so-called practical sections of his epistles.  Paul has given the Philippians a number of exhortations (imperatives) throughout this letter to do certain things in order to stand firm in the face of persecution.  A statement made in the indicative mood is simply a statement of fact and is not a call to do something, but to accept something as true, as for example, God has provided all that is necessary for you to be delivered from his wrath in the person of his son, Jesus.  The law corresponds with the imperative mood (a command), while the gospel corresponds with the indicative mood (a statement of fact).  

You cannot more fundamentally misunderstand Paul’s exhortations such as this one to rejoice (which usually come in the last portion of his letters) than by attempting to understand and act upon the imperatives apart from a prior understanding of the indicatives from which they arise.  To read Paul’s exhortations (so as to be practical and relevant, and to avoid the hard work of thinking through the doctrinal sections) apart from the prior gospel indicatives (Paul’s description of all those things God has done for us in Christ) is to command us to do things which we cannot do.  The law (the imperative) brings us further frustration and condemnation.  The exhortation for a suffering Christian to “rejoice” without reference to, or a proper understanding of the gospel, is not a word of encouragement, but can be downright cruel.

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This Week at Christ Reformed Church (April 23-29)

Sunday Morning, April 29:  We are studying the Minor Prophets.  We are currently in the Book of Joel.  This Lord's Day we will address YHWH's call to Judah to "return to the Lord," a call which was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost.  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  We are working our way through the Belgic Confession.  We next take up article 11, which deals with the deity of the Holy Spirit.  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (April 25 @ 7:30 p.m.):  We continue with our series, "Apologetics in a Post-Christian Age."  We are continuing to survey modern theories of revelation.

The Academy (Friday, April 27 @ 7:30 p.m.):   We continue our lecture/discussion series based upon Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.  Our topic this week is "the Social Science Revolution."

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Church), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"The Word of the LORD that Came to Joel" -- Joel 1:1-20

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon on the Minor Prophets from the Book of Joel

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This Week's White Horse Inn

A New Way to Think About Work and Family

On this edition of White Horse Inn the hosts begin a discussion of Ephesians chapter 6, as Paul outlines the proper roles for Christian parents and children. While many today leave religious instruction to their church’s youth program, Paul teaches that it is the father’s responsibility to bring up their children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The hosts also interact with Paul’s instructions concerning the proper motivation for Christian workers and employers.

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Apologetics in a Post Christian Age (Audio) -- God's Revelation (Part Three)

Here's the audio from our Wednesday night Bible Study:  Modern Theories of Revelation

Previous lectures in this series can be found here (scroll down): Apologetics in a Post Christian Age

Gene Veith on How Churches Can Better Retain Their Youth

Gene Veith's take on two recent LCMS studies exploring the reasons why our kids leave our churches, and why others stay.  How Can Churches Retain Their Youth?

"Our Citizenship Is In Heaven" -- Philippians 3:12-4:1

The Seventh in a Series of Sermons on Paul's Letter to the Philippians

Whatever we say about Paul and the importance of his doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, we must not overlook the fact that Paul is an eschatological thinker–his focus is always on the time of the end regardless of whatever real life issues he must deal with in his letters.  Even while Paul remains under house arrest in Rome awaiting the outcome of his trial before Caesar (Nero), Paul desires to know better the resurrection power of Jesus through which he will attain to the resurrection of his body at the end of the age.  Even as the Apostle exhorts the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution from without (Greco-Roman pagans) and from within (the Judaizers who had recently arrived in Philippi and were beginning to torment the church), Paul repeatedly tells the Philippians to do the things necessary to stand firm.  They are to be of one mind, one accord, and love one another, in light of the day of Christ Jesus (our Lord’s second advent).  While the theme of the entire Philippian letter can be summed up in one word, “rejoice,” Paul’s own joy in the midst of suffering is thoroughly grounded in his knowledge that Jesus directs all of human history to his appointed end (eschatology).  Whatever comes to pass serves to bring us closer to the day of “Christ Jesus.”  Yet, there is much to do until that day comes.  This requires that the Philippians stand firm in the face of persecution and as far as humanly possible put into practice those things which Paul has exhorted them to do, and all the while keep their eyes fixed on the finish line.

We are returning to our series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and we have made our way as far as the second half of the third chapter (vv. 3:12-4:1).  As we saw last time, Paul warned the Philippians about  the presence of Judaizers in their congregation (3:2), identifying these men as enemies of the gospel.  Paul uses very strong language in this regard.  He calls these false teachers dogs, evil-doers, and mutilators of the flesh–men who boast about their own personal righteousness all the while speaking despairingly of those Gentile Christians who dare reject their heretical teaching.  

While we might be a bit dismayed that Paul would use such harsh language of others, Paul has skillfully demonstrated that it is the Judaizers who deserve the same derogatory names which they had been using of their opponents.  The Judaizers claim to be righteous through their good works, specifically circumcision, but they must realize that the very same Apostle Paul, whom they seem to despise, can put them all to shame when comes to claiming human merit before God.  If any circumcised Jew with a zeal to obey the law of God had grounds to boast, it was Paul.  Paul was a true Hebrew of Hebrews, a well trained Pharisee.  But after Jesus appeared to him while Paul was on his way to hunt down and arrest Christians in Damascus, Paul came to see that his own personal righteousness (which he describes as “blameless”) was really only so much “rubbish.”  Paul’s reflection upon being “found in him” (Jesus) and possessing a righteous not his own, which instead comes from God, and which justifies, requires a bit of qualification so as to make sure his words cannot be distorted by the Judaizers.  This was an ever-present threat as Paul knows all too well.

Once Paul has revealed his heartfelt desire to know Christ’s resurrection power and attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11), he must now clarify that this is something for which he longs–this is not something he’s already attained through his own accomplishments, even those things he has accomplished in his office as apostle.  The Judaizers may boast about their attainment of perfection in the flesh, but Paul will not even consider boasting about such things–even though he could.  Of course, there is the sense, as the author to the Book of Hebrews makes plain, that believers in Jesus are presently reckoned as perfect, as when he says in Hebrews 10:14, “for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”  In one sense our salvation is a settled matter and God regards us as perfected when we first believe in Jesus and are united to him, even as we begin the lifetime process of being sanctified as the sinful nature is progressively weakened.

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Audio from Dr. Godfrey's Author's Forum, "Learning to Love the Psalms"

Here's the audio from Friday Night's Author's Forum with Dr. W. Robert Godfrey: 

"Learning to Love the Psalms"

You can purchase Dr. Godfrey's book here: 

Learning to Love the Psalms

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (April 16-22)

Sunday Morning, April 22:  As we work our way through the Minor Prophets, we now take up the Book of Joel.  This Lord's Day we will ask and answer the "who?" "when?" "why?" and "what?" questions, before tackling the first part of Joel's prophecy.  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  As we study the Belgic Confession, we come to article 10, which deals with the deity of Jesus.  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (April 18 @ 7:30 p.m.):  We continue with our series, "Apologetics in a Post-Christian Age."  We are surveying modern theories of revelation.

The Academy (Friday, April 20 @ 7:30 p.m.):   We continue our lecture/discussion series based upon Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.  Our topic this week is "The Decade of the Disenchanted."

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Church), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Wasted Is Nineveh" -- Nahum 1:12-3:19

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon on the Minor Prophets from the Book of Nahum

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