Philippians 2:14

Our adult class on Sunday spent some time on this verse and engaged in some great discussion concerning its meaning and application. I decided I would simply share some quotations from a few other believers on this verse without any commentary of my own. So, here we go:

Philippians 2:14 - Do all things without grumbling or questioning, ...

J. B. Lightfoot: "Be ye bot like Israel of old. Never give way to discontent and murmuring, to questioning and unbelief. So live that you call forth no censure from others, that you keep your own consciences single and pure."

Homer Kent, Jr.: "Compliance with Paul's exhortation should be 'without complaining or arguing." The first term describes the grumbling discontents among the congregation, and the second depicts the evil reasonings and disputes that usually follow. Are these directed against God or against each other? Neither alternative is foreign to the context. The passage is influenced by Deuteronomy 32:5, and the example of Israel's complaining, which was chiefly against God, was used elsewhere by Paul to instruct the church (1 Cor. 10:10). ... Emphasis in the command falls on the word everything ..., which is actually the first word of the verse in the Greek text. Most Christians are able to do some things without complaint. IT is when we are exhorted to be doing 'all things' with a joyful spirit that the difficulty comes. Yet the outworking of our Christian faith in daily life lays this responsibility upon us."

John Calvin: "For every man that has learned carefully to submit himself to God, without claiming anything for himself, will also conduct himself agreeably among men. When every one makes it his care to please himself, two faults prevail: First, they calumniate one another; and secondly, they strive against one another in contentions. In the first place, accordingly, he forbids malignity and secret enmities; and then, secondly, open contentions."

Henry Airay (16th century English commentator): "We must live thus and do thus, that we may be blameless. That is to say, that we may not give to anyone any just cause of complaining of us or blaming us. And this is set down for us as a mark to shoot at, at which in our life we must level as nearly as we possibly can, to live without blame and reproof among people. But is this possible? Could our Savior Christ himself, or could his apostles and disciples, escape the reproof and hatred of the Jews? No, they could not; neither could we."

Charles Spurgeon: "The apostle says, 'Do all things' --- by which he seems to teach the activity of the Christian Church, for the Christian religion is not mere thinking or feeling, but doing and working for God. 'Do all things without murmurings' without murmuring at God's providence--- which was a common vice of the heathen, who, on their tombstones often recorded their protest against God for having removed their darlings, and upbraided him as cruel and unkind for taking away their relatives. 'Do all things without murmurings against one another.' Let your love be so hearty and sincere, that ye do not envy your richer or more talented brethren. Let there be no low whispers travelling through your assemblies against those who ought to be esteemed among you. Whatever ye do, let no murmuring be mixed with it, but labour with delight, and suffer with patience. Let there be no murmurings even against the ungodly world. If they be unjust, bear their injustice in silence; be not always offering complaints; there are a thousand things which ye might speak of, but it is better that like Aaron ye should hold your peace. To suffer in silence shall dignify you and make you greater than ordinary manhood, for then you shall become like Him, who before his accusers opened not his mouth.

"The apostle continues, do all things without 'disputings.' Dispute not with God, let him do what seemeth him good. Dispute not with your fellow Christians, raise not railing accusations against them. When Calvin was told that Luther had spoken ill of him, he said, 'Let Luther call me devil if he please, I will never say of him but that he is a most dear and valiant servant of the Lord.' Raise not intricate and knotty points by way of controversy. Remember, you have adversaries upon whom to use your swords, and therefore there is little need that you should turn their edges by dashing at the armour of your fellows. Dispute not even with the world. The heather philosophers always sought occasions for debate; be it yours to testify what God has told you, but court not controversy. Be not ashamed to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, but never do it in a spirit of mere debating, never because you wish to gain a victory, but only because ye would tell out what God hath bidden ye reveal.

"'That ye may be blameless.' Men will blame you, but you must seek as Christians to lead lives that give no occasion for blame."

John MacArthur: "Whatever the elements of working out your salvation are, do them all without grumbling or disputing.  In other words, in all your Christian living, in all that you do by way of obeying God, in all that God is working in you to will and to work for His good pleasure, be sure you never complain.  That’s the idea. 

"So, we now have then a companion to verses 12 and 13.  Verse 12 says, 'Work out your salvation.' Verse 14 tells you the attitude in which to do it.  Can you get that?  This is the attitude in which you work out your salvation.  It is an obedience without complaint.  You don’t complain about what God calls you to do.  You don’t complain about what He asks you to do.  You don’t complain about the circumstances in which He asks you to do it.  Who are you to complain in view of your sins?  It is grace that you are not consumed, and complaining is in itself a wicked proud sin.

"So, here you have a very general 'work out your salvation.'  Why does he come down so narrow and say, 'Do all things without grumbling and disputing?'  Isn’t that very narrow and very limited?  No.  That’s the attitude that fits the general command.  Why?  Because life isn’t going to always serve you up what you’d like.  God’s going to allow you to go through trials and testings and difficulties not to make you gripe, but to help you to pray, to teach you to trust, to teach you to be grateful and thankful for what you have because you can see the hard things as well.  So, this is not a narrow, isolated command, this is a broad general attitude that in all things related to your working out your salvation, you do them without ever grumbling or ever disputing."

Spurgeon on Regeneration

The greatest English speaking pastor of history has said much on the subject of regeneration. Given recent barbs and "theories" flying around Facebook in recent days, I thought I would simply share a couple of paragraphs from ONE of his sermons ("Regeneration" from March 3, 1857).

First, what he had to say on regeneration as a result of baptism (emphasis added):

But some say all are regenerate when they are baptized. Well, if you think so, stick to your own thoughts; I cannot help it. Simon Magus was certainly one exception; he was baptized on a profession of his faith; but so far from being regenerated by his baptism, we find Paul saying, "I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." And yet he was one of those regenerates, because he had been baptized. Ah! that doctrine only needs to be stated to sensible men, and they will at once reject it. Gentlemen that are fond of a filigree religion, and like ornament and show; gentlemen of the high Beau Brummel school will very likely prefer this religion, because they have cultivated their taste at the expense of their brain, and have forgotten that what is consistent with the sound judgment of a man can not be consistent with the Word of God. So much for the first point.

Second, to those who wish to give man credit in his choosing his regeneration with his so-called free will, he has a couple of paragraphs on that as well (again, emphasis added):

Neither is a man regenerated, we say, in the next place, by his own exertions. A man may reform himself very much, and that is well and good; let all do that. A man may cast away many vices, forsake many lusts in which he indulged, and conquer evil habits; but no man in the world can make himself to be born in God; though he should struggle never so much, he could never accomplish what is beyond his power. And, mark you, if he could make himself to be born again still he would not enter heaven, because there is another point in the condition which he would have violated—"unless a man be born of the Spirit, he can not see the kingdom of God." So that the best exertions of the flesh do not reach this high point, the being born again of the Spirit of God.     And now we must say, that regeneration consists in this. God the Holy Spirit, in a supernatural manner—mark, by the word supernatural I mean just what it strictly means; supernatural, more than natural—works upon the hearts of men, and they by the operations of the divine Spirit become regenerate men; but without the Spirit they never can be regenerated. And unless God the Holy Spirit, who "worketh in us to will and to do," should operate upon the will and the conscience, regeneration is an absolute impossibility, and therefore so is salvation. "What!" says one, "do you mean to say that God absolutely interposes in the salvation of every man to make him regenerate?" I do indeed; in the salvation of every person there is an actual putting forth of the divine power, whereby the dead sinner is quickened, the unwilling sinner is made willing, the desperately hard sinner has his conscience made tender; and he who rejected God and despised Christ, is brought to cast himself down at the feet of Jesus. This is called fanatical doctrine, mayhap; that we can not help; it is scriptural doctrine, that is enough for us. "Except a man be born of the Spirit he can not see the kingdom of God; that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." If you like it not, quarrel with my Master, not with me; I do but simply declare his own revelation, that there must be in your heart something more than you can ever work there. There must be a divine operation; call it a miraculous operation, if you please; it is in some sense so. There must be a divine interposition, a divine working, a divine influence, or else, do what you may, without that you perish, and are undone; "for except a man be born again, be can not see the kingdom of God." The change is radical; it gives us new natures, makes us love what we hated and hate what we loved, sets us in a new road; makes our habits different, our thoughts different, makes us different in private, and different in public. So that being in Christ it is fulfilled: "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new."

Amen and Amen!

Spurgeon on Christian Compromise

"It may be that some of you professedly Christian people have been living at a distance from God. You have not led the separated life. You have tried to be friendly with the world as well as with Christ--and your children are not growing up as you wish they would. You say that your sons are not turning out well and that your girls are dressy, flighty and worldly. do you wonder that it is so?

"'Oh,' you say, 'I have gone a good way to try to please them, thinking that, perhaps, by doing so, I might win them for Christ!' Ah, you will never win any soul to the right by a compromise with the wrong! It is decision for Christ and His Truth that has the greatest power in the family and the world, too. If a soldier in the barracks is converted and he says, 'I mean to be a Christian, but, at the same time, I will join with the other men as much as I can. I will sometimes step into the tavern with them,' and so forth, he will do no good. But the moment he boldly takes his stand for his new Captain and is known to be a Christian--his comrades may begin to scoff at him, but they will also begin to be impressed--and if he bravely maintains that stand and never gives way in the least degree, but is faithful to his Lord and Master, then he will be likely to see conversions among his fellow sholdiers."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Sermons and Their Delivery #2

As noted in my earlier post, I see a sermon as:

… an exposition and application of God’s Word which has been internalized by God’s messenger and then delivered by that messenger to the people for whom it was intended.

While the sermon is an exposition and application of God’s Word, it carries the marks of its author as well. Two men of God may choose the same Biblical text, find the same principal theme in that text, and, possibly, even the same points of presenting that theme. Nevertheless, the sermon will reflect each man’s style, resources (internal and external references), education, background, etc.

Furthermore, many times the application derived from the text will also vary due to not only the difference in the authors but also to the difference in the recipients. Sermons will vary in their composition.

The same may be said when it comes to the delivery of that message. Each speaker will present a message differently. Some men are monotonic, some are not. Some men read their messages, others do not. Some will use extreme gestures, others may barely move. The Bible doesn’t say much about the actual delivery of the message. Certainly you would expect some passion if the sermon has truly been “internalized by God’s messenger” before being presented. But even the characteristics of those hearing the message may change the way in which the preacher actually delivers the message (e.g., a sermon I preach only to children will, most likely, be delivered differently than if I present it to a typical congregation).

Since the application of a message is primarily geared at the recipients of that message, is it ever appropriate to preach a “repeat” sermon? In other words, if God burdens you with a message to be delivered to a specific group at a specific time, should you ever preach that message at a future time?

Again, the Word of God does not directly address this matter. I haven’t found anywhere in the Scripture which forbids this practice. On the other hand, I have not found any text which supports it.

From a common sense perspective, it doesn’t seem to me to make much sense for a preacher to preach the same exact sermon to the same congregation. Repeating a message smacks of laziness on the part of the preacher. Yet, if God truly guides the preacher to repeat a message to the same congregation then I will not argue with the Lord. I suspect most church goers won’t even recognize a repeat sermon! Furthermore, most of us need to hear the same thing over and over until we get it. I would hope, though, this would be a very infrequent occurrence.

But what should we think concerning a preacher delivering the same sermon to a different congregation? While the application of a message should be directed toward the recipients of that message, there are several applications of Scripture which apply to virtually any congregation (e.g., the necessity of the sinner to repent and believer). Surely such a sermon could be shared by a minister to two different congregations.

In real life this is often done by ministers we call evangelists. These men usually have a collection of their messages they preach repeatedly to different groups. Since the primary thrust of sermons from an evangelist is for conversion, the application of their message would be appropriate for any congregation (or group).

Surely if God can lead a man to preach the same sermon to the same congregation more than once He can also lead a man to preach the same sermon to multiple congregations. Personally, when I preach I try to have a fresh word for the people to whom I am speaking. I have heard that was the case with Spurgeon as well. He did not believe in repeating a message.

But in lack of Scripture forbidding the practice, I cannot say a preacher should never repeat one of his messages. If God has given him that message, if it is expository, if it burns within his heart, and if its application is appropriate for those to whom he is delivering it, then so be it.

I do close with a warning to my fellow preachers. Take great care not to get in the habit of repeating your messages even to other listeners. If you do you will find yourself becoming lazy in your sermon preparation and your listeners may find they are being fed stale bread rather than a fresh word from God.

Next, a matter of great concern …

Evaluating Preachers #1

Recently I have been made aware of a new method (at least new to me) for evaluating preachers of the Gospel. Some believe the messenger should give Scripture references whenever they refer to a text from the Bible. By “Scripture reference” I mean they expect the preacher to give “book, chapter, and verse”. The fewer such references provided during the message, the lower the evaluation given to the servant of the Lord.

Such a method for evaluating a preacher and/or a sermon is a poor one at best. I know of no place in the Scripture where God’s Word commands the messenger to give the reference whenever he quotes a Biblical text. Certainly he is to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) but Paul never told him to give book, chapter, and verse. In fact, in those days, there were no chapters or verses!

Many of the greatest preachers throughout church history have proclaimed the Word of God without giving the accompanying reference to the Scripture they just quoted. Look at Spurgeon’s sermons and how often the “Prince of Preachers” doesn’t even tell you which book he’s quoting, let alone give the exact reference. Sometimes when the sermons of these famous servants of God are published, the actual reference is added. Often, though, the reference was not delivered as part of the message. Does this make them “bad preachers”?

Even when the New Testament authors quoted their Old Testament counterparts, they certainly never gave us book, chapter, and verse. Sometimes they tell us the author. Sometimes they simply say “It is written”. Sometimes they quote the passage and never tell the reader anything about its location. Does that make them “bad preachers”?

Now don’t take me wrong. When a minister of the Lord quotes a work other than Scripture, he should make certain to notify his audience that this quote is not his. The messenger of God should NEVER take credit for another man’s work. But even in that situation the messenger doesn’t have to indicate the exact location of the reference. “Someone has said” is sufficient for me. “Luther noted that” is good enough to indicate a quote from Luther.

But when it comes to Scripture references in the midst of a message, simply noting “the Scripture says” or the “Bible notes” is good enough when I am listening to a message. If I ever want a specific reference location I will ask the speaker after the sermon. Actually, those of us sitting in the pew should have enough familiarity with God’s Word to recognize when the man of God is quoting it!

If you are a preacher who always gives his Scripture references as he proclaims the Word of God, good for you. If you are a preacher that frequently quotes Scripture as he preaches but does not always provide the reference, good for you. Just make certain you are a preacher proclaiming the Word of God.