Well, good morning. If you would,
turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2. Our text for today
will be verses 1 through 11 in Philippians 2. And as you turn,
let me add my welcome to Winston. Glad to see you here. And for those of you who maybe did
not make the conference, I'll tell you again, as you know,
we didn't hold services last week. We were at a conference
in Tennessee. And as Winston prayed about our
small number, I was reminded of how good it was to be around
others and find out that our little flock is actually a little
bigger than you sometime might imagine. And we know in the Scripture
it says there will be a number in heaven that no man can number
from all the generations through the ages, all of the very elect
of God. And the thing that struck me
about the conference was that like-mindedness that you saw,
where everything was focused upon Christ and His finished
work. And the passage that we're going to look at today, we'll
be looking at this unity of the faith, that is, this oneness
of mind of all those who are in the faith. of the very gospel
of God in Christ. So what we'll do is we'll just
go through these first 11 verses of chapter 2 and I'll make comments
as we go through them and then come back and make a few points
in closing. We begin in verse 1, it says, If there be therefore
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship
of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies. So before we go
on, let's consider here that he begins this with that important
word, therefore. He said, If there be therefore
any consolation. So we see that there's a continuity
of thought from what he had been speaking of before. In the original
text, there were not chapter and verse divisions, but they
were put there by the translators for our benefit and easy reference. But let's go back now for a moment
and pick up in chapter 1 and see the context in which our
text today falls. And we probably ought to go all
the way back to verse 21, so follow with me there. There Paul
writes and he says, For me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain. But if I live in the flesh, this
is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I want
not." That word what, W-O-T, means I know not. Here Paul is
saying, I know not what to choose, and he says in verse 23, for
I am in a strait betwixt two. Having a desire to depart and
to be with Christ, which is far better. But in verse 24 he says,
nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
God has me here for a reason, see. Paul is saying, and that's
what I must do. And having this confidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance
and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus
Christ for me by my coming to you again. And he says, only
let your conversation, that word means your conduct, your manner
of life, your knowing with regards to where your citizenship is,
the scripture says elsewhere. That is, it's not of this world.
Having been redeemed by Christ and as a fruit and effect of
that, God having revealed that to you in the spiritual life
through the power of his Holy Spirit, he's saying, let your
conduct, be as it becometh the gospel of Christ." That is the
good news of how God saves sinners wherein his righteousness is
revealed. He says, "...let it be as that
which becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and
see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye
stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel. So we see here that this unity
of mind that we'll be looking at in chapter 2, this oneness
has to do with our ministry. Why God has the church, the members
of the body of Christ, here on earth. what we're to be about,
what our life is truly about as citizens of the kingdom of
heaven rather than of this world. And he says, if you just, in
the interest of time, skip down to verse 30, he says, having
the same conflict, in other words, what he was speaking of back
up in verse 23, when he said, I'm in a strait, to die is better
to go and be with Christ, but in verse 24, nevertheless, It's needful. There's something
here needful for the body of Christ. He says, having that
same conflict, which you saw in me, and now you hear to be
in me as he speaks here, he begins our text. And so he says, if
therefore, if there's any consolation in Christ, That is, if there's
any basis upon which this exhortation can be applied to you, based
on you finding consolation, being consoled as an alien on this
earth, so to speak, when you think about it, so foreign to
the world's religion. He had said in the verses we
skipped, he talked about suffering for his sake. there right at
the end of chapter 1. So he's saying if there's any
consolation, if there's any comfort of love, that's speaking of assurance. If you can have assurance based
upon God, finding yourself as an object of God's love in Christ,
he says if there's any fellowship of the Spirit, and I believe
there that's speaking of the indwelling presence of God the
Holy Spirit, as a fruit and effect of what Christ purchased for
the sinner. He's saying that the scripture
elsewhere says we're made partakers of the divine nature. And we
know that word means fellowshipers. In other words, there's something
that bears testimony to me of the truth of my hope in Jesus
Christ. And he said, fellowship of the
Spirit if any bowels and mercies This speaks of our compassion,
our love for the truth, and as objects of mercy, our desire
for that mercy to be extended. So again, we see how this fits
in with the conflict that Paul had. We're about a ministry.
Your presence here, your support. We, the church, think of it this
way. God has determined to draw people
unto himself, and he's chosen the gospel of Christ. the good
news, where the righteousness of God is revealed. And as we
support with our time, our money, our presence, in whatever feeble
ways that we might do so, this is what we're really all about,
is proclaiming this gospel. And so he says, if you find any
of that, he said, then fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded. having the same love, being of
one accord, and of one mind. So here in verses 1 and 2, we
see who Paul is directing his comments to. They are justified
sinners. That is, those whose guilt and
defilement for sin has been removed at the cross of Calvary, and
as a result of it, the Holy Spirit has come. He purchased life for
them. For what he accomplished, righteousness,
the Scripture tells us, demands life, that perfect satisfaction
he made before God's bar of justice that Christ made demanded life
and it was the same life that he will raise them up into eternal
glory. The scripture tells us that same
resurrection power is the power that gives them spiritual life
in the new birth so that we see and behold what was done in Christ
Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Well, in verse
1 and 2, that's who he's speaking to. And he says, and you are
to be like-minded. And then in verses 3 and 4, we're
going to see here a description of the mindset that we're to
have. When he says, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. That is, through selfish self-interest. Strife being contention, selfish
contention. And vainglory being that which
would be our self-interest that is that's derived both from vanity
and that is vain and empty glory. And we perhaps understand the
first part of this verse better by seeing its opposite, its antithesis,
in the second part of the verse. Look with me. It says, But in
lowliness of mind, the opposite of doing things through strife
or vain glory. He says, Let each esteem other
better, more important, than themselves. Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Think of that. He's not saying
don't take care of your own things. He's saying, but look equally
on the things of others. It should remind us of Christ
when he said, here's the summary of all the law. Love God supremely
in what? Love your neighbor as yourself. Now I'll tell you what. If I
loved you like I love me, you'd just be overwhelmed by my love.
And I think that's true of all of us. We see we fall far short
of this standard. And yet, that's what's set forth
here in verses 4 and 5. And then in verses 6 through
11, He gives us the supreme example of this lowliness of mind, of
this servitude, this meekness, this humility, in our Savior
Christ Jesus when he says, let this mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God,
that word form there, it means exact likeness, who really being
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. You remember
when Christ, when the time of his crucifixion was approaching,
They came to him and he had told some, he says, your sins are
forgiven. And they said to him, his critics
said, oh, only God can forgive sin. And he said, yeah, I'm God. And it was that which was used
as part of their very justification for crucifying him. Well, as
Paul writes here, we're talking about Christ. He didn't consider
it blasphemy. It was not robbery, because he
was God, to be equal with God. And yet this one who was God,
look, in verse 7 says, it made himself of no reputation. What
condescension! What humility! And he took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,
deity taking into union with himself, Humanity, body, soul,
mind. And being found in fashion as
a man. That word fashion there speaks
to the external condition of man. The scripture elsewhere
tells us, you know, that he was made like unto us in all ways,
yet without sin. You see, that's where he differed. There was no ally, naturally,
with Satan. Yet all of us born of Adam, we
were born in trespasses and sin. And it says here, he was found
in fashion as a man, and he humbled himself, and he became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And we'll come back
to that verse in a moment. Verse 9 says, wherefore, that
means for that reason God also hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name, an identity, which is above every other name."
Now think of this, God, nothing can be added to deity, and yet
this one who was God was exalted. And man, humanity can't be exalted,
yet this one who was human was exalted. Hear what we have in
this great exaltation and the greatest manifestation the scriptures
teach us of the very glory of God. That means what he's like.
How all of his attributes come together, they're revealed in
this obedience unto death. This was an earned exaltation,
an earned glory by virtue of his work. This man who was the
God-man, He was exalted. And it says that at the name
of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things
in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. You see, he will be vindicated.
Here it's speaking of the judgment and how at the judgment even
those who imagined they had an interest in Christ, certainly
those who reject Christ outright, But those who fail to see all
their hope based in this obedience unto death, fail to see God's
glory in that. How God could be just and still
save the sinner based on that work with no contribution from
the sinner. Nothing added to it or taken
away from it. These all will bow. Every tongue
confess that he will be vindicated. And I really believe that a lot
of the misery of eternal destruction will be in the fact that they
will know that that righteousness was brought near in the earth,
to use the scriptural language, that salvation was in Jesus Christ
and that they wouldn't have it. And they will know, and even
in their condemnation, God will be glorified. Well, as we look
at this passage, there's a couple of things I'd like for you to
see. Certainly in the immediate context we see a supreme example
set forth in the person, the God-man, and the work, the obedience
unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see a wonderful role
model. That's the standard we're to
strive to attain in the unity of the faith. That meekness,
that humility, and that love. But for those who can really
understand true meekness, the meekness that God gives, they
see more than just a role model. You see, in that example, they
see a Redeemer. So what we have then here in
verse 1, as I mentioned, is we have sinners. We've only got
two categories of people in the world, sinners and sinners who
are saved by grace. And this, I want to suggest to
you this morning, at least I want us to consider two categories
among those centers, and that is those who would read these
words, who are religious in some way, and most likely profess
some identity with or interest in so-called Christianity. Okay? There's a group that, and
so every, I'm suggesting to you that I want us to consider all
of those who would who would imagine that they are among these
that Paul, just as he was talking to the church at Philippi here,
that he's talking to all believers by extension. And so they find
themselves in the category of verse 1. Now, here's what I know. I know from the Scriptures and
I know from my own personal experience as well, that long before I understood
what Christ really accomplished at the cross of Calvary, I thought
I was assured of my salvation, that I had a comfort of love
here. And thank God that in time, under
the sound of the gospel, wherein I saw what he accomplished, the
very righteousness that was established, I came to see that that was nothing
but false presumption and not assurance. And so we have a group,
and we know from testimony, especially throughout the epistles, that
we're warned to not be deceived. We're told of the preachers in
Matthew 7 who say, Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied in your
name and done many wonderful works? They had cast out demons,
you'll recall, things that only God could allow them to do. And
here they are, a picture of them at the judgment, and they're
saying, Lord, hadn't I done all this? And he says, depart from
me, ye workers of iniquity. You see, they thought they had
an interest in Christ, and yet the Scriptures are replete with
testimonies of men who are deceived. And I want to suggest to you,
we all start out our religious walk so deceived. That's why
God commands men everywhere to repent. You see, it's only natural. We are deceived by sin in imagining
that our salvation is ultimately conditional, something that's
done by and through me, anything other than what Christ fully
accomplished in His work on the cross. Now, the other category
are those who truly have God the Holy Spirit, not another
spirit, but they actually have God the Spirit, the one whom
Christ said He'll come and bear testimony, He'll appoint you
to me. Nowhere else. And they have been blessed by
God, based upon what Christ accomplished in his obedience unto death,
and purchased for them, they've been given life and cause to
look to Christ. Now, here we have these two subsets. We all start out down this road
imagining that salvation's in a way that God says he won't
have, for the Scriptures say there's a way that seemeth right
to a man, but that way is the way that ends in death. And then
we have those who have been delivered from that so as to repent and
turn and see that all of their hope is based upon Christ and
His obedience unto death. Now, if all of those imagine
that they are of that subset, how might we distinguish? We
heard at the 10 o'clock hour a message by Richard Wormack
talking about judging righteous judgment. How do we make a righteous
judgment in that regard? Well, those who merely imagine,
but are deceived in thinking that they have an interest in
Christ, that they're among those whom Paul is talking to here,
you see, they, accompanied by that deception that they're in
that number, is the fact they imagine that salvation, see,
is still conditioned in some way, to some degree, on something
they do. Now, don't get me wrong. When
I say that they see a role model here, but they really don't understand
that he really did a work of redemption, they'll call him
Redeemer. I once did. They will say that,
thank goodness for Jesus, that He died for my sins. They won't
make much ado about Jesus. They will sing the song, He paid
it all. And I did many of those very
things. all the while imagining that
what he accomplished only made me savable, only set the stage,
only was a prerequisite of sorts. If I would do my part, and I'd
say, all I have to do is just reach out and receive it. All
I've got to do is accept it. All I've got to do is walk an
aisle and professing before men Whatever that is. Or I might
imagine, as some do, that I must find a righteousness within myself. That that wasn't complete. That
the righteousness he accomplished, it has to be put inside me rather
than just judicially reckoned unto me. And so what we have
here is those who, in such a mindset, should really shudder when they
read verses 4 and 5. You see what most who are on
the broad way, most religionists, they're on a way. In other words,
they think they're interested in heaven's glory and they want
to get there. And so they're on a way, and Christ described
the way as the broad way, one of them being a broad way that
leads to destruction. He says many are going to go
in there, and the other being a narrow way, the straight gate
that leads unto eternal life. But he says few go in there at. Now here we have somebody on
this way, and what they need is they need to see the extent
of God's law. Have you ever noticed in the
exhortations of Scripture, you never read where Paul or any
of the writers of the New Testament, or in particular, you don't see
it in the strictness of the law of the Old Testament, do you
ever see them saying, just do the best you can? He doesn't
say here, try to not be so self-centered. Have your self-interest in mind
quite as much. No, he says, let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory. So first of all, we don't see
the extent of the command, or if we do, we think, but that
can't apply to us humans because we can't meet the standard. Some
will say, well, Randy, you're saying don't do anything from
a self-interest. You don't do that. You're right.
I can't do that. That's why I need a substitute. Simply because I'm not able does
not mean that a holy God still doesn't require it. He requires
perfection. Christ said as much on the Sermon
on the Mount when he said, Be ye therefore perfect. Clear as
day. That's what's required. But most,
like me in years past, they would have to imagine that He doesn't
really require that. If they think, as I once did,
that Jesus Christ came and died for all men, then they have to
imagine that what they do with what Jesus did is really the
crowning event. You see, that would be their
Savior. Whatever makes the difference in those who go to heaven versus
those who go to hell, that's the Savior. These come and they
imagine that something done by me, something done in through
me recommends me to God, and they deny thereby what Christ
accomplished in His obedience unto death. I hope you see that. You see, they imagine that in
humility, Most imagine this, that in humility, I met some
requirement or condition. In other words, I bowed down
to God and said, come into my life, Jesus I pray. Or I said,
I'm going to walk down this aisle and profess Him before men. Or
I'm going to live my life in such a way that will show folks
I've got a righteousness inside of me. Whatever that is, you
see, they think it's an act of humility. That they've humbled
themselves, and the reality is, that in their darkness, as spiritually
dead men, which we all are as we come into this world, the
scripture said, blind. Christ said, seeing you cannot
see, you've got physical eyes, but until you're born again,
until you're given spiritual life and given spiritual life,
you can't see, you can't hear, and such as we all were. And
so they come, and until they can see, they imagine, see, that
their act of humility in meeting a requirement condition what
they don't see is the greatest act of self-righteous pride in
total opposition to the command of verses four and five of any
practical thing we could ever do you see for what it would
suggest is that a glorying in myself, that there really is
something that I do that makes the difference in my salvation. And so when it says in verse
3 there, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better
than themselves, that's not what I'm doing. I'm thinking I am
better than somebody else. That God, there's something that
would make me accept Jesus. There was something that would
make me invite Him into my life. You see, I may even say it this
way. Oh, thank God that He gave me
the gift of faith, but He put something in me so that now I'm
better than someone else. Or that He put a righteous nature
in me that had to complete, supplement, add to what He did in His obedience
unto death so that now I'm better than someone else. But you see,
the one who's made humble in Christ, He comes to see that
he is made better than someone else in the beloved and nowhere
else. There's nothing better in here,
in the sinner. You see, and there we see the
true example of humility. So one comes and he says, well,
I still think it's all Jesus, but you got to believe. You do,
but God calls men. to believe that all of their
salvation is conditioned on what Christ did for them and not on
their believing. So, and think of this, what they're
doing, what they're saying. Christ, didn't he say on the
Sermon on the Mount, he said, think not I came to destroy the
law and the prophets, I came to fulfill the law. That means
perfect obedience to God's will. And he said, I came to fulfill
every jot and tittle. That means dot every i, cross
every t. Jesus said, that's why I came.
Now, if we imagine that Jesus Christ lived and died for some,
and they still perish, or if we imagine that He really doesn't
require you to possess a perfect righteousness, since we know
we can't produce one, if you really believe that, then think
of what you're saying about Christ. He died in vain. You may not,
men are unaware that that's what they're saying, but the reality
of their doctrine exposes that they're saying his life and death
was useless. You see, because that's what
he came to do. And to think that we can be accepted
before a holy God based on anything other than that perfection that
he rendered is to say what he did was worthless. It didn't
get the job done, and so they don't see a Redeemer there. Well,
what does such need to hear? They need to see with spiritual
eyes and hear with spiritual ears that God grants in the new
birth, and under the sound of this message of how he saves
sinners, they need to hear the gospel of verse 8. that set forth
there where we see the person, the God-man and the work, the
obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That verse, obedience
unto death, there are two ways and they are both true that we
can look at that. He was obedient all the way to
the death. In other words, he never sinned. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, He,
God the Father, made Him, God the Son, to be sin for us, God
the Son who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That is, God, He said, I'm going
to put upon Him sins. The scriptural word is imputation. That means He charged sins to
Christ. The sins of those that he chose
before the world began and he gave to Christ, according to
the Scriptures. The ones who Christ said, all
that you gave me, Father, I'll lose none of them, but I'll raise
them up at the last day. He charged their sins to Christ. And God the Father charged the
merits of what he accomplished in his obedience unto death unto
all those whose sins he bore. So that the justified sinner
stands before God having a perfect humility, a lowliness of mind,
a meekness that he doesn't produce, but it was one that was produced
for him by his substitute and then reckoned to his account,
charged to his account. And that's what God requires,
and that's why Christ came. And to imagine that we're accepted
before God based upon anything else is to say that he did not
accomplish his mission. It's a denial of the very reason
he came. Well, the other thing we see
in his obedience unto death is the totality of justice being
satisfied. You see, righteousness, that
word means perfect satisfaction to God's law and justice. Righteousness. In his obedience unto death,
he perfectly obeyed all the way to death. So therefore we see
the law's precepts kept. They were obeyed. God's revealed
will was perfectly complied with by Christ as a representative
and a substitute for a people. And we also see the penalty extracted. Where there's a law, there's
a penalty for where it's broken. Now, since he suffered and bled
and died for sins he didn't produce, but for a people who were what?
Sinners. He justifies, the scripture says,
the ungodly, then their sins must be dealt with. They must
be put away. A penalty must be paid, extracted. And the penalty must be sufficient
for the crime. A holy God How can a holy God
accept a sinner, one who transgresses the law? And so he charged the
sins to Christ and Christ paid the debt in full. So we see the
totality of justice satisfied in his obedience unto death.
Now be turning to Romans 15 real quickly. Romans chapter 15. If we consider the text of Philippians
2 by itself, his obedience unto death, if one did not consider
it and interpret it with the rest of scriptures, could you
verify that in fact what I just said about his obedience unto
death was the truth? It doesn't talk there about justice
satisfied in that passage, and yet the whole of scripture tells
us about what Christ accomplished in his life and death, the very
righteousness he established. And I've just picked one. So
how do we know he did that as a representative and a substitute,
for example? So I just picked one passage
here to just show you. And the reason I picked this
one, there are a lot of more clear passages that deal with
the righteousness that Christ established. But I picked this
one because it's a similar passage in this way. Here he's dealing
with the unity that believers are to have. strong believers
and weak believers. But just as in Philippians 2,
Paul points them to an example, and that example is Christ Jesus.
But he adds something here that we didn't see in Philippians
2, and I want you to see that. Keep in mind this. I mention
all these other scriptures, and we're not going to have time
to turn to them all today, but in Galatians 4.4, He said that
Christ was made under the law. That's why he condescended and
took on the form of man and being found in a fashion as a man.
He was made under the law. He had to walk on this earth
to be under that jurisdiction that we all were. A requirement
for us that we be perfect, that we walk on this earth in total
perfection and obedience to the Father. So he had to be made
under the law and it says to what? Redeem them that were under
the law. And so when I talk about those
who would imagine that Christ did a wonderful thing out here
in making men savable, but that they must react to it in order
for them to appropriate that blessing unto themselves. That's
why I say that's not a redemption, though they may call him a redeemer.
For a redemption is not just an attempt made. It is a payment
made. And it was made by one who cannot
fail, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, look with me in Romans
15. In verse 1, Paul writes, We then that are strong ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to edification, For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written," and here he is going to quote from Psalm
69, and this was Christ speaking through the psalmist in Psalm
69, to the Father, and he says, "...as it is written, The reproaches
of them that reproach thee, God the Father, they fell on thee."
You see, that's what we as sinners do. We're a reproach unto God. And he's saying here, in this
example, he sets forth, he's saying, no, I died, I was obedient
unto death in Philippians 2 for reproaches that fell on me, that
were laid on me. And that's what I wanted you
to see. And he goes on, for whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. A certain expectation. See, if we're trusting that Christ,
His perfection, Finished work of putting away things if that's
where our hope is it's certain and sure Why would I go to the
father saying? Let me into your kingdom because
I believed because you know tomorrow. I won't believe you know I might
have a moment of doubt When I can go to God and say accept me as
the scripture say it says as unreprovable unblameable holy
Not here, but based on that which my substitute did for me. Scriptures
put it this way, accepted in the beloved. And he goes on in
verse 5 there, now the God of patience and consolation, there's
that word again, grant you to be what? Like-minded one toward
another according to Christ Jesus that ye may with one mind and
one mouth Not glory in vain, but glorify God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive ye one another,
as Christ also received us." What? To the glory of God. You see, there ends where God
is glorified. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 tells us that
in salvation, God, it said, who created the world, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, said, let there be light, He
shines a light in the hearts of sinners, of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, in the person
and work of Jesus Christ, that is, in His obedience unto death.
For there we see how God can remain holy and just. And as
He says in the Scriptures, I shall by no means clear the guilty
who cannot commune with sin in any way, and yet can show mercy
and grace and love to a sinner through a representative, a substitute,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and that be made mine not in any other
way than God's judicial accounting of it to me by imputation." Well,
what about those of us who God has so blessed to turn that light
on in our hearts, so to speak, and cause us to look to Jesus
for all of our salvation and have no confidence in the flesh?
those of us who find a consolation in Christ that he mentioned in
verse 1. Well, if we consider this text in its immediate context,
we are to look to him as a role model. And this, we should strive
to be of that same mind, like-mindedness in Jesus Christ. And so we're
motivated to conduct ourselves, to strive to conduct ourselves
in our conversation, as we read in chapter 1, in accordance with
this supreme example of Christ. But here's the difference. Not
in order to be blessed by God, but because I have already been
blessed by God in Christ based upon his finished and completed
work. And so what happens is the scriptures
teach us that God sheds his love abroad in our hearts, so that
we can in some way enter into this conflict that Paul talked
about in chapter 1, and that is, have a passion and a desire,
bowels and mercies, for the mercy that has been given us to be
extended to others. And so we see it needful to support
the gospel. with our money, with our time,
with our prayers, with anything we can do to spread the truth
of how God saves sinners. You know, in Hebrews 12, too,
regarding that supreme example, we quote a verse there often.
It's a great passage. where it says that we're to look
unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith. Finisher,
meaning nothing left for you to add to it. It was over and
done with when He died on the cross. It says, "...who for the
joy that was set before Him endured the cross." It tells us why. Despising the shame and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. The joy of glorifying
the Father. All for the Father's glory. To
reveal who He was. so that God could show mercy
and grace and love to sinners such as we. But we don't often
quote the next verse which reads, for consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners. against himself, lest ye be wearied
and faint in your minds." Here you are in Paul's conflict and
you're going, you know, to die is better than to be with Christ. And he says, but nevertheless
it's needful. We're not here on this earth
very long. You know it. It's a short, short
life. And we shouldn't be wearied and
faint when you consider the contradiction of sinners against himself. God
Almighty humbling himself, condescending to take into union with himself
humanity that bled and suffered and died, that thirsts in all
ways like unto us but without sin. And the key here is the
contradiction is he who was without sin, he died as the scripture
says, the just for the unjust. This one died for sins who never
commit, who is the only one who ever walked on the face of this
earth and did not constantly commit sin. Now you consider
that example and it should, it motivates those whom God has
given bowels and mercies as he described in verse 1. It prompts us to enter into an
understanding of what Paul talks about in striving for one faith. Does this mean that somehow now
I think that I do meet the standard or that those who have this revealed
meet this within themselves? No. We're still full of self-love
and we will be until the day we die. We're selfish, prideful,
part of fallen humanity. And the only difference is these
had been delivered and had it revealed to them that they were
delivered from their guilt and defilement of sin based on what
Christ did at the cross. You see, I don't think there's
such a thing as a pure motive as long as we live in this body
of death. I stand here before you because I desire that God
would save sinners and I know He decided to use this message
The gospel, he says, is the power of God and the salvation for
therein is the righteousness of God revealed. And so that's
a good motive. That's a God-granted motive.
And I want to speak with clarity, and I want to do the very best
I can in setting it forth, knowing all the while that it won't be
my clarity or my persuasiveness or my oratorical skills or lack
thereof that will make the difference, but God simply chooses to use
His church and the members of His body to accomplish His means. And so when some of you at times
may encourage me and say, really enjoyed that message, I'm glad,
and I need the encouragement. There's nothing wrong with that,
but you know I'm also kind of proud that I must have done a
pretty good job." And you say, well, I'm not going to listen
to you, Randy, you proud, self-righteous sinner. But I'm just being honest. When I pray before you, I pray
and I desire to follow our Lord's example in the Sermon on the
Mount in the manner of prayer that He would be magnified, that
His name would be hallowed. And I desire to take from him
my petitions as he commands us to do. And when I pray publicly,
there's a little part of me over here going, I hope that sounded
good to others. You see, we're ate up with self-love. We're ate up with it. I desire
the best for my family and for my grandchildren. And I desire
the best for your grandchildren, Winston, but you know what? I
don't pray for them nearly as often as I do my own. Now, what does that do to me? Does that mean I sit here and
I'm so ashamed that I can't stand before you because I'm such a
self-absorbed sinner? No, let me tell you what it does.
What does the recognition of this unattainable standard do
for us? It does not diminish our responsibility
to strive to have this mind, it does not change our desire,
but it draws us to worship and rejoice in the fact that my standing
before God is not based on whether I can have this mind in me perfectly,
which was in Christ Jesus, but because that perfect humility,
that perfect meekness, it is mine. It's not put in here. But my substitute did it for
me. And there's all my hope. And
that's what I base on. And I thank God for Jesus Christ
and what He did. And that's what that does to
a sinner who's among those that Paul described there in Philippians
2. Well, you see, there we behold God's glory. And in this one
area, I want to suggest to you, this one area, you see, there's
a meekness and a humility. imperfect as it might be, that
others don't know anything about, at least in the other group that
I described. You see, for God makes his people
meek unto salvation. You see, he humbles them to show
them the impossibility of their being saved based upon anything
they do, don't do, anything found in them, anything they even credit
God with doing inside of them, but it's all based on what God
did for them in Jesus Christ. And so they're humbled. Their
cry is for mercy. They've got to have a favor they
cannot merit. And it's one that comes from
the very satisfaction that Jesus Christ made. I've got to have
a perfection, see, outside of myself. And I believe when Christ
said in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the meek, that's
the meekness he's talking about. He's talking there about eternally
blessed. justified, and having had it
made known to them, they are made meek, so that they see their
need for Christ and salvation conditioned on him alone, with
no contribution from the sinner. So I pray God will bless you
likewise, that you too can say with the Apostle Paul in Galatians
6.14, God forbid that I should glory, that is, that I should
find hope anywhere Save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that means accept in the cross of Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. You see my conversation
is not of this world. Or as Jeremiah the prophet put
it, he said, Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercises, what? Loving
kindness, righteousness, and judgment in the earth. That's
his obedience unto death. For in these things, God says,
I delight. And so therein is his glory. And to rest there, that won't
be in vain. That's not vain glory. To God
be the glory.