Preaching on Philippians

David C. George  |  Southwestern Journal of Theology Vol. 23 - Fall 1980

To set the stage for preaching on Philippians, let me tell you about a man. He is like many people in our churches, so he can help us to identify some needs and objectives for preaching. This man is well educated. He is an achiever. He started his career as an ambitious, aggressive crusader. He was so strong in his opinions, so sure that he was right, that he hurt a lot of people as he pursued his goals. In spite of his outward confidence, he was plagued by doubt. No matter how hard he tried, things did not get better. In spite of the illusion that he was better than others, deep down inside, he knew he was not good enough. Sometimes this made him feel that there was no meaning or hope in life. But he kept on struggling, and he kept on hurting himself and others.

The conflict in his life built up to a crisis. Suddenly he experienced a mysterious collapse. He was unable to continue the activities he had planned. Out of this experience came a new perspective. He realized that his life was not hopeless. He discovered that God was not the angry, demanding deity he had feared but was ready to accept and help. Instead of struggling, it was possible to trust. With new hope and purpose, this man went on to live a life of faith and service to others. His life did not become easier. In fact it became harder. He endured great suffering all along the way. He made enemies who threatened his life. But through it all he became more serene and hopeful. He developed an amazing inner strength that could not be shaken by any outward circumstance.

By now, it may be apparent that this is a thinly disguised description of the apostle Paul. The point is that Paul’s life covered the map of human experience from bad to good, and in the letter to the Philippians he describes the finished product—strength, joy, and peace in spite of all to the contrary. Among the people who will hear you preach from Philippians there will be some at almost every stage of the struggle, needing to hear that there is hope and how to experience it for themselves.

 

The Biblical Material

The first step in preparing to preach from Philippians is to immerse yourself in the text itself. This is not hard to do with this letter, for it is brief and full of human interest. The commentaries will mean more and will be put in better perspective if they are read after the text itself. Your own preaching will be more original and true to you if the text speaks to you loud and clear before you read the sermons of others on it. So read the letter. Read it many times. Read with a notebook at hand to jot down first impressions and fleeting ideas and illustrations that might otherwise be lost. But do not be too concerned with homiletics in your early reading. It is most important at first to experience the Word of God speaking   to   you personally through the words of Paul.

It will help to read from several translations. Reading through the four chapters at one sitting and doing it often will give an overview and an intuitive understanding out of which preaching can flow spontaneously. It is also important to read Philippians in the context of the rest of the New Testament. Read the Acts account of the beginning of the work in Philippi (Acts 16:6-40) and then imagine that you are sitting in Lydia’s living room with the tiny church as they read Paul’s letter for the first time. How would it sound to the successful business woman? To the jailer and his family? To the former fortune teller who had been freed from demon possession?

When you have the content and mood of Philippians well in mind, you can make some preliminary notes on preaching. You may want to make a homiletical outline of the book with some suggested subjects for each text. The letter consists of twenty-four paragraphs in the Revised Standard Version. Each is about the right length for a solid text, and each has some valuable insights for today. Some individual verses will also stand out. Note these for further study. Some key words, most notably “joy” and “rejoice,” recur throughout the letter. Mark these for possible word study sermons. You might see each of the four chapters as a text and plan four broad sermons from them. Perhaps you have one overwhelming impression of the book that would make a one-sermon overview of the book. Write these down before you lose them, but don’t go too far in developing them before doing some detailed exegesis. Your surface impression of the meaning of the text may need to be corrected on the basis of further study.

At this stage it is helpful to note the distinctive characteristics of Philippians. Understanding what Paul is doing will help you to decide what you want to do when you preach to your people. Philippians is personal. Like all of Paul’s writings it has a strong confessional element. Sermons on Philippians ought to let the preacher share with his people how it is with him in the Christian journey. Philippians is positive. Sermons on such a book ought to be filled with great affirmations. Yet Paul himself did not hesitate to confess his imperfection, and his great truths should not be laid out as though the preacher had them down pat. Philippians is practical. The most theological passage in the book, 2:5- 11, is put there for a practical reason, to help the Philippians develop Christlike attitudes in daily life. Philippians is profound. The attitude toward death, suffering, anxiety, and physical circumstances set forth by Paul are the mature fruit of a long life of Christian growth. They will not be easily appropriated by the audience or by the preacher himself. Philippians is specialized. It is a guide to Christian maturity. It does not develop all the basic doctrines. There is little ethical emphasis. It is not an evangelistic book, although there is enough gospel in it for several evangelistic sermons. There is much more material here for pastoral, life-situation preaching.[1]See Edgar N. Jackson, How to Preach to People’s Needs (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker Book House, 1970). There is also a lot about Christian unity, stewardship, mission support, personal relationships, and the disciplines of Christian living.

As you move toward preaching from particular texts, the commentaries come into play. The old classics by J. B. Lightfoot[2]J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1953). and C. H. C. Moule[3]H. C. G. Moule, Studies in Philippians ( Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1970). are both scholarly and inspiring. The International Critical Commentary[4]Marv R: Vincent, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1897). contains much valuable information. Among newer works, I have found F. W. Beare most helpful.[5]F. W. Beare, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1956). Other recent works worth consulting are those by E. F. Scott,[6]E. F. Scott, “The Epistle to the Philippians-Introduction and Exegesis,” The Interpreters Bible, Vol. 11 (New York: Abingdon Press, 1955). Frank   Stagg,[7]Frank Stagg, “Philippians,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 11 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971). Ralph   Martin,[8]Ralph P. Martin, The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Michigan· William B Eerdmans 1959). Malcolm Tolbert,[9]Malcolm O. Tolbert, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, Vol. 22 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980). and Jacobus Muller.[10]Jac. J. Muller, The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians and to Phil, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1955). As always, A.M. Hunter[11]Archibald M. Hunter, “The Letter of Paul to the Philippians,” The Layman’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 22 (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1959), pp. 78-109. and William Barclay[12]William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1959). prove to be good friends for the preacher. Karl Barth, the preacher’s theologian, has a brief commentary on Philippians.[13]Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Philippians (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1962). F. B. Meyer’s devotional exposition[14]F. B. Meyer, Devotional Commentary on Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1979). is very good, and James Montgomery Boice has also written in this vein.[15]James Montgomery Boice, Philippians: An   Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971).

 

Life Situation Preaching

Philippians was written out of the experience of Paul to particular people in particular circumstances. If the word of God is to be heard as these texts are preached today, it must again come through the experience of the preacher into the actual situation of the hearer. In the case of Philippians, these considerations are especially important. What Paul is talking about in this letter is nothing less than whole, healthy, mature living in the face of suffering, anxiety, and death.

My own preparation for preaching from Philippians this year has coincided with an intense period of personal struggle and growth. During a time when I have been very frustrated by some of my outward circumstances and have experienced more than my usual level of anxiety, I have been amazed at how Philippians speaks to these basic issues of the human struggle. As I have negotiated the troubled waters of the mid-life transition, I have often been plagued by the impossible standards I have set for myself. What a relief to hear Paul saying, “I have not already attained perfection.” When I have been tormented by past mistakes and failures, I have been helped by   one who   could forget the things that are behind. When I have looked out at the end of life from the mid-point of the early forties, it helped to hear Paul say “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” When I have set some new goals for myself and then suffered the sinking feeling of butterflies in the stomach as the fear of failure came over me, I have clung to the promise that prayer and thanksgiving can bring peace instead of anxiety. When I have wondered whether I am equal to the challenges that come to me as pastor, husband, father, and citizen, I have heard the man in the Roman prison say, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” When I have shared these discoveries with my church, others have said, “That helps.”

During this period of struggle and growth, two books have been especially helpful to me. I have noticed that they often cover the same ground as Paul does in Philippians, so I regard them as indirect commentaries on the epistle.

The first is Paul Tillich’s The Courage to Be.[16]Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1952). Tillich portrays man as a finite creature who participates in being but is constantly threatened by non-being. He is subject to anxiety as he faces fate and death, emptiness and meaninglessness, guilt and condemnation. His ultimate danger is despair. His hope is to find the strength to affirm life in spite of these threats. This affirmation Tillich calls “the courage to be,” “the ethical act in which man affirms his own being in spite of those elements of his existence which conflict with his essential self-affirmation.”[17]Ibid., p. 3. Tillich’s discussion of the “in spite of” character of courage is strongly reminiscent of Paul’s discussion of the things that were happening to him and his victory over these circumstances. Tillich’s discussion is also helpful in interpreting Philippians because he treats extensively the Stoic view of courage which is also in the contrasting background of Paul’s statements in Philippians.[18]Lightfoot, op. cit., pp. 270-333, gives an extensive comparison of the Stoic Seneca and Paul. Tillich’s discussion of joy and its relation to courage[19]Tillich, op. cit., pp. 14-15. is also relevant to Philippians. When Tillich says, “The courage which takes. . . anxiety into itself must be rooted in a power of being that is greater than the power of oneself and the power of one’s world,”[20]Ibid., p. 155. who exemplifies this better than Paul in Philippians? The last two chapters of Tillich’s book will give the preacher some new insights into the meaning of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” I am not suggesting that we preach in Tillich’s words or thought structures, I am suggesting that he can help us understand Paul and ourselves and enhance our respect for the depth of Paul’s insight.

The other book is a secular psychological writing, Compassion and Self-Hate, by Theodore Isaac Rubin.[21]Theodore Isaac Rubin, Compassion and Self-Hate (New York: Ballan­tine Books, 1976). It is several notches above the usual self-help book in insight, length, and difficulty, but it is practical and popular enough to be tremendously helpful. Rubin describes all the destructive things people do to themselves and each other in terms of self-hate. He tells how he and some of his patients have been able to overcome illusions,   anxiety, and depression by learning a more compassionate way of life. Although he does not use religious terms, what he describes sounds very much like being saved by grace through faith. What he lacks is Paul’s experience of “him who strengthens me,” or Tillich’s “power of being.” But as far as he goes he gives vivid, revealing examples of how the forces of healing operate in human personality. Some of the precepts of his “compassionate psychophilosophy” could almost be sermons from Philippians: “I Am Because I Am” (pp. 160-63) describes grace. “I Am Where I Am” and “Be Here Now” (pp. 171-77) are reminiscent of Paul’s statements about forgetting things that are behind and being content in whatever state you find yourself. “The Process Is the Product” (pp. 177-79) speaks of life as a journey that is never complete just as Paul speaks of pressing toward the mark. “The Right to Live and the Right to Die” (pp. 191-93) takes up a theme developed by Paul when he says, “for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” “Life Is Tough” (pp. 193-96) speaks of the hardships of life in a way similar to Paul’s description of his suffering and imprisonment.

If, as Phillips Brooks said, preaching is the communication of truth by man to men,[22]Quoted in Thomas R. Chilcote, Jr., The Excellence of Our Calling (New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, 1954), p. 24. then it is as important to prepare the preacher as it is to prepare the sermon. It is really more important, for whether you ever preach or not, you are a person called to pursue the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Your study of Philippians must ultimately include your own progress in the pilgrimage.[23]See the fine presentation of the case for confessional preaching in the 1979 Beecher Lectures, John R. Claypool, The Preaching Event (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1980), especially pp. 86-87 and 59-77.

 

Approaches to Preaching on Philippians

There is no end of sermonic material on Philippians. The preacher who has bought good books of sermons through the years and has indexed them by texts can simply look in his card file or notebook and find good examples on   several texts. In the survey of texts and ideas below, some such examples will be noted. Another source of sermonic examples is Twenty Centuries of Great Preaching[24]Clyd E. Fant, Jr., and William M. Pinson, Jr., eds., Twenty Centuries of Great Preaching (13 vols.; Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1971). which contains an index by scripture verses.

At least three volumes of sermons on Philippians are available, although the first two are out of print. John Henry Jowett, master British preacher of the turn of the century, wrote The High Calling.[25]J. H. Jowett, The High Calling (New York: Fleming ,H. Revell, 1909). Leonard Griffith, an English preacher serving in Canada, has a fine volume entitled This Is Living.[26]Leonard Griffith, This is Living (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1966). A recent work by a Southern Baptist pastor is Roger Lovett’s Journey Toward Joy.[27]Roger Lovette, Journey Toward Joy (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1977.) Two other books, while proposing to be simply meditations or devotionals, offer some good seeds and illustrations for sermons: Lloyd John Ogilvie, Let God Love You[28]Lloyd John Ogilvie, Let God Love You (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1974). and Bill Owen, Mike Smith, and Tom Steagald, Devotionally Yours, Philippians.[29]Bill Owen, Mike Smith, and Tom Steagald, Devotionally Yours, Philip­pians (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980). Valuable help is also provided in an article by Baptist pastor James Sorrell,[30]James E. Sorrell, “Preaching from Philippians,” Review and Expositor, LXXVII (Summer, 1980): 383-92. This entire issue is devoted to Philippians. in Dwight Stevenson’s book, Preaching on the Books of the New Testament,[31]Dwight E. Stevenson, Preaching on the Books of the New   Testament (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956). and in Halford Luccock’s More Preaching Values in the Epistles of Paul.[32]Halford E. Luccock, More Preaching Values in the Epistles of Paul (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961).

A sermon on the whole book of Philippians could easily take the form of a biographical sermon on Paul and his imprisonment and his relations with the Philippian church. Two books suggest possible titles and offer materials for preaching on Paul: James Stewart, A Man in Christ,[33]James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ (New York: Harper & Brothers, N.D.). and A. T. Robertson, Paul’s Joy in Christ.[34]A. T. Robertson, Paul’s Joy in Christ (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979). These two themes, union with Christ and joy, are central to Philippians. It should be noted, however, that both of these themes are set in the context of participation in the sufferings of Christ.

Each of the four chapters lends itself to a sermon. An outline I picked up years ago without noting its source is Affectionate Man (ch. 1) , Alert Man (ch. 2), Aspiring Man (ch. 3), and Adequate Man (ch. 4 ). The chapters might also be entitled Paul and His Friends (ch. 1), The Mind of Christ (ch. 2), What Really Counts (ch. 3), and The Peace of God (ch. 4).

Taking the book by paragraphs makes too long a course for one series, but offered a few at a time, the following units of thought make good texts:

1. “Partners in the Gospel” (1:1-3). This is a book about personal relationships, a case study in koinonia. Bruce Larson, in The Relational Revolution[35]Bruce Larson, The Relational Revolution (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1976). offers a stimulating discussion of the importance of relationships in the church and the Christian life. Verse 1 could be entitled “Paul and His Friends.” In verse 2, the phrase “grace and peace” is an important Pauline construction. The dialogue between grace as God’s activity and attitude and peace as our experience and response could well provide a framework for understanding the whole letter. I think a great sermon could be preached on verses 7 and 8 on the subject, “The People in Your Heart.” Verses 9-11 suggest a sermon entitled, “A Prayer for Growing Christians.”

2. “The Things that Happen to Us”   (1:12-14). As a student, I heard J. P. Allen, the pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, preach a memorable sermon on this text. His title was “What Happens to What Happens to You?” His premise was that we cannot always control what happens to us, but we can control what happens to what happens to us. In Christ our circumstances are transformed to yield new and redemptive results. Notice, too, that the good results were experienced by “most of the brethren” not all. We can be grateful if most people respond favorable to our ministry. We need not expect all to do so. (v. 14 ). As you read the phrase “what has happened to me” in verse 12, note the recurring mention throughout the book of the things that happened to Paul and the one thing he set himself to do (“everything” 3:8; “things,” 2:12 and 4:13; “one thing,” 3:13).

3. “What Motivates Your Religion?” (1:15-18). This puzzling passage gives us opportunity to consider that people in their religious efforts do not always have pure motives and that   even poorly motivated efforts   can   do some   good. In our day of divided denominations and competing parachurch groups, 1t is hard to be as gracious as Paul is here, but we need to work on it.

4. “Free to Live and Free to Die” (1:19-26). I talked recently with a seventy-year-old woman who is dying of cancer. The problem that concerned her most was her husband who is crippled and is very dependent on her. She felt that she did not have the right to accept her own death in peace because of his need, or perhaps because of her need to be needed. Paul felt needed by the Philippians, but he could contemplate the approach of his death without regret. He was willing to leave this in God’s hands and be at peace. When Whitaker Chambers was asked why he became a communist, he answered that communism seemed to offer a rea­son to live and a reason to die.[36]Whitaker Chambers, Witness (New York: Random House, 1952), p. 11. People need such reasons. Paul found them in Christ.

5. “Living Out the Good News” (1:27-30). The Gospel has a qualitative impact on the lives of its adherents. Good news produces good lives. Paul understood that faith is more than believing in Christ. It is also participation in a way of life characterized by steadfastness, determination, and suffering.

6. “The Jesus Way” or “Christ Our Example”(2:1-11). This remarkable passage describing the self-giving of Christ is   directed at producing the same kind of attitude in his followers. Verses 1-4 could lead to a sermon on “Living with Others or How to Get Along with People in the Church.” Verses 5-11 which require special study demand the preacher’s best efforts to preach on “The Mind of Christ” or “Why Jesus Christ Is Lord.”

7. “How Does Salvation Work?” (2:12-13). The command to work out our own salvation must be balanced with the promise that God is working in us. This sermon, then, has two points: God works it in, we work it out. (See E. B. Meyer on this text.)[37]Meyer, op. cit., pp. 102 ff.

8. “Let Your Light Shine” (2:14-18). Paul echoes Jesus’ affirmation that Christians are the light of the world. By living a life that contrasts sharply with the world, they light up the lives of others.

9. “The Kind of People We Need,” or “Sending the Very Best” (2: 19-24). Paul needed,   and   the   Philippians   needed, a special kind of person. He would not be primarily concerned about his own welfare, but he would be intensely concerned about the people of Philippi. There weren’t many like that available. As a matter of fact, there was only one, but at least there was one.   His   name   was   Timothy,   and this brief text, along with the letters to   Timothy   and   the story in Acts, could produce   a very fine biographical sermon.

10. “When Someone You Love Faces Death” (2:25-30). In discussing the ministry of Epaphroditus, Paul gives us a glimpse of his feelings and those of the Christian community when this dear friend came close to death in serious illness. Preaching needs to deal with what our loved ones mean to us and how we face the threat of losing   them. We must both value them while they live and recognize that they will die and that their death can have   meaning in our common relationship to God.

11. “Reason for Confidence” (3:1-7). Paul describes the usual grounds for human confidence – race, religion, accomplishments – and contrasts them with the true basis of security – relationship with Christ. Verse 1 is one of several texts in the letter which urge “Rejoice in the Lord” (see 4:4).

12. “The Value of  Knowing Christ” or “Profit and Loss.” (3:7-11). This is a primary text that must be treated by the preacher. Its standards are so lofty that it requires careful explanation and illustration to relate it to practical Christian living for all Christians.

13. “Hopeful Living” (3:12-16). See the example sermon at the end of this article. See also the sermon on this text by Walter B. Shurden.[38]Walter B. Shurden, “On Making It to Dinner,” The Struggle for Mean­ing, ed. by William Powell Tuck (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1977),pp. 103-107. This volume also contains sermons on Philippians by William L. Self, pp. 109-15, and Henry H. Mitchell, pp. 37-42. On the theme of the Christian life as a pilgrimage of growth, see the excellent article in Search by Jerry Brown.[39]Jerry Brown, “A Theology of Personal Growth,” Search, X (Fall, 1979), 54-61. On verse 13 see Tillach’s sermon, “Forgetting and Being Forgotten.”[40]Paul Tillich, The Eternal Now (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963), pp, 26-35.

14. “Heavenly Living for Earthly People,” or “Patterns for Living,” or “Living in Two Worlds” (3:17-2). Moffatt’s translation of verse 20 makes a vivid text, “We are a colony of heaven.”[41]James Moffatt, Trans., A New Translation of the Bible (New York: Harper & Row, 1954). Barclay, among others, has a good discussion of the unique representative nature of Roman colonies wherever they were located.[42]Barclay, op. cit., pp. 85-86.

15. “Stand Firm,” or “When Christians Disagree” (4: 1-3). Paul’s purpose in writing was to help the Philippians to stand firm. As in Ephesians 6:13, standing signifies victory over evil and stability in Christian living. This exhortation is followed by an appeal for unity. Even in the strong, healthy congregation at Philippi there were conflicts and discord. Building unity is one of the tasks of pastoral leadership.

16. “Living in the Presence of God,” or “The Answer to Anxiety” (4:4-7). This is a rich text for pastoral preaching. The best sermon I know on this passage is Eduard Schweizer’s “God’s Inescapable Nearness.”[43]Eduard Schweizer, God’s Inescapable Nearness (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1971), pp, 93-98. Reprints of this book are available from the Baptist Book Store, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. The sermon is also included in James W. Cox, ed., The Twentieth Century Pulpit (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978), pp. 197-201. See also the analysis of the sermon in James W. Cox, A Guide to Biblical Preaching (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1976), p. 67. Careful attention needs to be given to defining anxiety in dealing with this text. It is misleading and unbiblical to give people the idea that Christians ought never to experience anxiety. See Tillich’s discussion in Courage to Be[44]Tillich, The Courage to Be, pp. 32ff. and Oates, Anxiety in Christian Experience.[45]Wayne E. Oates, Anxiety in Christian Experience (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1955).

17. “Thinking and Acting as a Christian,” or “What Do You Think?” (4:8-9) Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”[46]Quoted in Thomas A. Harris, I’m OK-You’re OK (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), p. 264. Thomas Harris in I’m OK, You’re OK makes a good case for the idea that our thoughts are like tape recordings which we can choose to play or not to play.[47]Ibid., pp. 264-65. See also pp. 7-11, 52-53. His point is, you do not have to play the bad tapes that degrade and discourage you. Paul lists some of the great virtues, traits also admired by the Greeks and Romans, as values Christians should dwell upon.

18. “Facing Whatever Life Brings,” or “Coping with the Ups and Downs” (4:10-13). John Claypool has a good sermon on this pastoral text.[48]John R. Claypool, “The Art of Contentment,” Sermon preached May 21, 1978, available in printed form from Northminster Baptist Church, 3955 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, Mississippi 39211. Paul displays the maturity and inner strength to stay afloat spiritually no matter how strong the wind and waves of life become. This is not the Buddhist denial of desire. It is the satisfaction of our deepest longings in Christ, compared to which all other desires can be seen in proper perspective. The Christian’s center must be in Christ, but this center must be internal. It must become deeply our own, or else some circumstance will come along that can pull us away from it. This practice of spiritual centering is a major subject of the great devotional writers.[49]See Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out (New York: Doubleday & Com­pany, Inc., 1975), pp. 25 ff., and Thomas R. Kelley, A Testament of Devotion (New York: Harper & Row, 1941), pp. 29 ff. This text also has ethical implications. The question of whether to seek more or be content with less is one of the most pressing issues of our day. Among the problems that come to mind are world hunger, consumption of non­renewable resources, inflation, shortage of energy, and the affluent life style of American Christians.

19. “The Partnership of Giving and Receiving,” or “Christian Giving” (4: 14-20). This is a good stewardship text. It talks about giving. But it also talks about the grace to receive from others. Many Christians need to learn to receive. They are uncomfortable with the experience of having someone give them a present, a compliment, or even an act of kindness. Both giving and rece1vmg are based on the generous provision of our needs by God our Father.

20. “The Variety of the Saints” (4:21-22). Saints in Philippi, saints in prison, saints in Caesar’s palace! What a wondrous variety of  people have been called and assembled in the body of Christ. They are not all alike, but they are all saints and all brothers and sisters in Christ.

21. “Spiritual Company” (4:23). The spiritual presence of Christ is the blessing Paul wishes for the Philippians. It’s a blessing available to us all.

An Example Sermon
Hopeful Living (Philippians 3: 12-16)

“There is no greater burden than a great potential.” Every Christian knows how Charlie Brown   felt when he spoke those words one day in the “Peanuts” comic strip. Much of the time we view the Christian life as a great potential, but as one we can never live up to.

As a pastor I have heard hundreds of Christians say, ‘Tm not a very good Christian.” As an individual struggling to grow, I have often felt this way. The standards seem to high, the goal seems so far away, we fall short so often.

I have noticed that people resort to several ways of dealing with this problem. Some fake it. They just go ahead and pretend that they are on top of things and are quite successful in their Christian living. Churches sometimes encourage this. It becomes a game we play when we are together. Even preachers -or especially preachers-think they have to put up a good front so others will be encouraged to try.

Others force it. They throw themselves into prayer, Bible study, and church activities. They compulsively control their lives to keep everything neat and orderly. They do not dare let anything go wrong. By sheer will power and nervous energy, they do the best they can to be perfect.

Many just forget it. They long ago gave up trying to do the impossible job of living by the standards of Christ as they understand them. They take comfort in the fact that they have a lot of company. They become particularly sensitive to those who haven’t given up, the “hypocrites in the church.” Some turn this ploy into one last effort to make it by relying on false humility. Maybe if I am so open and so hopeless about my failure, God and others will take pity on me and accept me after all.

As I have become more and more aware of these desperate struggles in myself and others, I have turned more and more often to the words of Paul in Philippians 3:21-16:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me his own. Brethren, 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 for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Paul wrote these words at the end of his life. At sixty, he had been striving for high ideals since youth, first as a Pharisee, and then for thirty years as a Christian. This Pharisee of the Pharisees and Christian of   the Christians, after all of this, says, ‘Tm not perfect. I haven’t reached the goal. But since Christ has already reached me, I keep moving forward. The important thing is to affirm the present, reach for the future, and keep growing.”

This is hopeful living. It is what we need instead of the hopeless gimmicks of faking it, forcing it, or forgetting it. As we look more closely at Paul’s words, we find three keys that will open the door to hopeful living for us.

The first is humility. Twice in verses 12 and 13 he affirms that he has not reached his goals. The fact that he held high standards as a Christian did not mean he required himself to reach those standards right away or even in this life. He did not punish himself for the discrepancy between where he was   and where he wanted to be someday.

We often think of humility as a negative view of oneself. It is really just the opposite. It is the ability to accept yourself and affirm yourself as you actually are right now. It is a realistic view of yourself that rejects grandiose illusions of   being   perfect. Without humility we   torture ourselves with fantasies of imagined greatness. This causes us to punish our actual self unmercifully for failure to live up to unrealistic expectations. Humility is the ability to see your­ self as God sees you and still love yourself as God loves you. If you say, “I cannot accept myself the way I am,” you are implying, “God cannot accept me the way I am, so I must do better so God will accept me.” Paul had tried that way as a Pharisee. It didn’t work. As a Christian, he had learned a better way. As he wrote to the Romans, “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Something in us fears this kind of humility. We think that if we accept ourselves as we actually are that we are giving up and we will lose   something. We must recognize this fear for what it is, a lack of faith in the power of God’s grace. If he did not fear to accept us while we were still sinners because he knew this acceptance would change us, then we need not fear that self-acceptance will be the end of hope. This is the way redemption works. First come love and reconciliation. This love then has power to do what law and effort and self-criticism could never do.

In describing the hopeful influence of humility, we have already begun to describe the second essential which is grace.

The basis of Paul’s hope is found in verse 12: “because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” He could accept his own imperfection because God had already acted to overcome it. He had strength to go on because the strength of Christ was at work in him. Christ not only accepted him, he claimed him as his own personal possession. Paul could admit that his hold on Christ was not perfect, because he knew that Christ’s hold on him was   perfect.   He could contemplate the weakness of his own hand because he knew the hand of God on his life was strong. He could gaze on the goal of complete Christlikeness without being devastated by his shortcomings, because Christ, who is the goal, was already present in his life from the very beginning. The motivation and energy required to press on came “because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” He was saying “I don’t possess the goal, but the goal possesses me.”

Grace means that God gives to us as a gift that which he expects of us. Grace means that God has taken the initiative and nothing else is required to make us acceptable to him. Because he loves me, I am free from guilt and bondage. Nothing else is necessary to justify my existence. Grace is unconditional acceptance. When we put conditions on our own acceptability, we are treating ourselves as God never would. All through his life Paul fought the legalizers in the church who wanted to add conditions to simple faith in Christ. Paul could not accept this betrayal of grace. The temptation to legalism is still with us. We love to quote Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” But deep down in our hearts, we still feel we must prove ourselves. We must succeed on the world’s terms, we must do better than others around us, before we can believe God would accept us, before we can feel good about ourselves.

John Claypool tells about a father who explained why he wanted his son to play football in spite of the danger of injury. “It is one of the things he does that helps him to feel good about himself.” Does that mean if a boy doesn’t play football he   doesn’t have   the right   to feel good about himself? Often it does in our society. But the good news of Christ is you don’t have to play football, or make straight A’s, or be the best looking girl in the class, or make a million dollars in order to feel good about yourself. It might be nice to do some of those things. But long before you do them, you can feel good about yourself because God loves you.

Grace, then, is the foundation of hopeful living. But isn’t there also a need for some achievement on our part? Of course there is. The third essential for hopeful living is growth.

Because Paul was free from unrealistic expectations and because he had experienced the power of grace,   he   could focus his energies on a continuing process of growth. “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.”   Such an attitude, he says, is characteristic of those who are “mature.” This word “mature,” or “perfect” in the King James Version   translates a Greek word based on the letters   t-e-l-e, referring   to   the end or destination of something. We use it in our words telephone, television, telescope, all expressing distance.   We also use it in teleology, the knowledge of the purpose of things, that is, their destination or end. It does not mean perfect in the sense of free from flaws It means perfect in the sense of complete, mature, serving the intended purpose. It also has the idea of something that is still at a distance. It means, then, “in the process   of   being perfected.” This helps us to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “You, therefore,   must   be   perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). It also helps to know that this same verb form can be translated as a future tense, “You shall be perfect.”

Paul is indicating what the rest of the Bible confirms: God is not a perfectionist in the sense of demanding perfection now. He is more interested in growth. The Christian life is a journey toward a destination. On a journey we do not demand that every step bring us to the destination. We simply expect that each step will lead in that direction. Impatient children ask, “When are we going to get there?” More mature adults learn to enjoy the stages of the journey.

The Christian life is a process in which each experience takes on some of the quality of the   destination, since the host   at   the   end of the journey also travels with us. Each leg of the journey points toward the goal and is itself a part of the goal. We live in a result-oriented society. We want our results right now. We would like to win every game. We want every enterprise to produce a tangible product. But life is not a production line. It is a process which is worth doing in itself, whatever comes of it. In other words, the process is the product. Even though we are pressing forward toward the goal, we can appreciate each day’s experience and affirm, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24).

The Christian lives in a state of tension between “the already” and the “not yet.” We already have the blessings of salvation, but at the same time we have not yet fully obtained the blessings of salvation. The only way to embrace both of these facts is to live in a process of growth. A commitment to grow will enable us to handle both the negative and positive aspects of our lives. The negatives in us are not crippling failures or insurmountable barriers, they are areas for growth.

It is not easy to admit we need to grow. It is not easy to believe we can grow. Growth can be painful. It hurts for a forty-year-old man to admit he has a lot to learn about being a husband, a father, a worker. But only blind pride would deny the need to grow. It hurts a lot more to pretend you have already learned it all. Refusal to grow leads to hopelessness.

Where there is humility, there is hope. Where there is grace, there is hope. Where there is growth, there is hope.

I have preached this sermon to meet the needs of many people I have met. Young people who are afraid they cannot live up to the expectations that are set before them. Young adults who are already discouraged about their failure to reach the goals they have set in their youth. Middle-aged persons who are facing great responsibilities and finding that their strength is running out. Older persons who find their lives filled with disappointments.

But most of all, I have preached this sermon for myself. I must be honest enough to admit that learning the meaning of grace has been a struggle for me. As a youth I was told that I had great potential. I was educated in schools that were very competitive. I felt that I had to excel or I would be a failure. And even when I excelled, I could see others who were doing better. I got the idea that I did not have the right to feel good about myself as long as I was falling short in so many ways. I learned early to criticize myself unmercifully. When I became a pastor, this proved to be almost overwhelming, because I felt that in the church and in the ministry only the very highest expectations were appropriate. In the last few years, I have come to realize that I was treating myself cruelly. I had failed to treat myself the way God wanted to treat me. I have begun to discover grace, not just as a doctrine, but as a deep personal experience. I don’t want to pretend that I have mastered the lessons of humility, grace, and growth. I just want to say with Paul that these are available, and it’s all right to be growing.

Hopeful living is possible for all of us. How about you?

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