The last two imperatives Paul calls the church to embrace are Meditation and Obedience. May the Lord quicken us to pursue these two commands with all our might.
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6 Essential Marks Of The Christian Life – Pt. 2
Philippians 4:8-9
Last week we began a two part series on 6 Essential Marks of the Christian Life. The apostle Paul is drawing his letter to the Philippians to a close. And as he does, he starts hammering home in rapid fire succession six different commands that he desires his readers to take to heart and apply in their lives.
We took a look at four of the six essential marks last time: Joy – Humility – Faith – Prayer.
Well, in verses 8 and 9, we see two more. In verse 8 it is Meditation. In verse 9 it is Obedience. May the Lord give us eyes to see and hearts to obey His revealed will this morning.
1. Meditation
You might be wondering why I believe verse 8 is speaking about meditation. It is because the word Paul uses in verse 8 – “dwell” on these things. This word can mean dwell, or think on, or ponder. Most newer translations have chosen to translate it as “think about” these things. That is exactly what Christian meditation is all about.
Now, I understand that if you are talking about other forms of meditation, you might be confused at this point. In many places, meditation is not about thinking about certain things. Rather, it is about trying to not think about anything. It is about emptying your mind of all thoughts. Or it is about focusing on your breathing, or repeating a mantra in order to reach a heightened level of spiritual awareness.
But meditation in Scripture is all about focusing your thoughts on Biblical truth. When you read the Bible, it’s like dipping your tea bag once into a cup of hot water. But when you meditate on Scripture, it’s like dropping the tea bag into the hot water for the next 5 minutes, so that all the rich flavor from the tea is extracted.
And brothers and sisters, this is extremely difficult to do in our day and age! Let’s go back to 1872. If we were to go back in history just 150 years, which is not that long a period of time, life was very different! There was really only one source of media – the newspaper. The only source of long distance communication was the telegraph system. You couldn’t call someone up on the phone. You couldn’t text someone. You couldn’t email someone. There was no radio, and no television. There was no Netflix. There was no Internet with all of its distractions. There was no Youtube, or Facebook, or Instagram, or Tik Tok. We are bombarded with thousands of messages a day. Think of all the billboards and signs you see every day. Think of all the commercials you see and hear. Think of all the posts and notifications you get daily. We live in an age of information overload and visual stimulation.
- More than 5 billion people use the Internet. That’s roughly 63% of the world’s population.
- Google processes more than 63,000 searches every second!
- Every minute of the day over 4 million YouTube videos are viewed.
- 2 billion people are active on Facebook every day!
- 350 million Facebook photos are uploaded every day.
With the incredible amount of information that is being generated and shared to us every second of every day, it is no wonder that we are a people that do not practice Biblical meditation. If you are a product of your culture, you don’t have much time in your day without information being downloaded into your brain. Our problem is that we have been so bombarded with the trivial that there is no room left for the profound and the eternal. And in order to meditate, you have to shut everything else out except what you are meditating on. You are going to have to unplug from the TV, radio, phone, internet, email, podcasts, etc. You are going to have to get alone with God and think about His revealed truth.
That’s why I believe that Biblical meditation is almost a lost art today. But if it is, we are the losers. The Bible is extremely clear about how important meditation is.
Psalm 1:1-3, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
Do you want to be a spiritually fruitful, prosperous and successful Christian? Then you must develop the practice of meditation.
Now, why have I been speaking of meditating on Scripture? Philippians 4:8 does not mention Scripture. That’s true, but it does mention what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. Pray tell, how you are going to know what those things are unless you look into the Bible? That’s where we will discover all of those things.
Whatever is true.
Jn. 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
Romans 3:4, “Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar”
John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me”
Whatever is honorable.
This word means “that which inspires reverence or awe; worthy of respect.” The Lord is honorable. He inspires reverence and awe. He is worthy of our respect.
Ps. 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you and you shall honor Me.”
Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce.”
John 5:22-23, “The Father has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.”
Whatever is right.
God Himself is the standard of what is right. He alone is righteous.
Psalm 11:7, “The Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness”
Psalm 19:8, “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart”
Romans 1:17 “in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”
Romans 2:5 speaks of “the righteous judgment of God”
Whatever is pure.
The word means “pure, chaste, or clean.” It comes from the same root as the word “holy”. It speaks of moral purity, especially keeping our bodies undefiled by abstaining from sexual sins.
Eph. 5:3-5, “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Whatever is lovely.
Psalm 84:1, “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!”
Psalm 135:3, “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is God; sing praises to His name for it is lovely.”
Is. 52:7, “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.”
Whatever is of good repute.
This word means “something that deservedly enjoys a good reputation.”
Acts 6:3, “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”
1 Timothy 3:7, “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
If there is any excellence.
This word speaks of moral goodness or excellence, such as modesty, or chastity.
2 Peter 1:5, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence…”
1 Peter 2:9, “so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
If anything worthy of praise.
This speaks of anything praiseworthy in God or people.
You will notice that all these expressions speak of God. He is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good reputation, excellent and worthy of praise. And in so far as we are like Him, we too partake of these same qualities. So, the exhortation is to meditate on God, and His wonderful attributes that are seen in Him and in His people.
The Puritans made it a practice of meditating on six great things from God’s word:
- the majesty of God;
- the severity of sin;
- the beauty of Christ;
- the certainty of death;
- the finality of judgment;
- and, the misery of hell.
That’s not a bad list. We would all do well to meditate on those six things.
My friends, will you begin today to set apart time to meditate on God’s word? You are going to need to choose a time when you will have no other input, like radio, TV, internet, cell phone, text or email notifications, etc. You won’t be able to meditate if you have all that other stuff coming at you. You need to be able to think. It seems like deep prolonged thought is almost a lost art in our generation. We desperately need to get back to it. So, make a commitment that you will set aside time, not just to read the Bible, but to think about what you have read. This is why we have tried to slow down our reading through the Bible. We could have read through the entire Bible in a year, but how much meditating would we have done? That’s why we have decided to take three years to read through the Bible. So, take 20 minutes to read, and 40 minutes to meditate. Meditation is done best with a pen and journal. As you think, write. You will be wonderfully surprised at how the Lord meets with you!
2. Obedience
The main driving verb of verse 9 is “practice.” There are some things we are commanded to practice, or apply, or do. Paul is talking here about obedience. He is saying the same thing that James says in James 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
This is the same thing that Jesus emphasized at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
Then in Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus speaks of two builders, building two houses, on two different foundations. When the storm hits, one house falls, and the other house stands. What makes the difference? Both men heard the words of Jesus, but one acted on those words, and the other didn’t. The great storm represents the final judgment when we stand before God. If we have heard the words of Jesus but have not acted on them, we will not stand in the judgment.
Obedience to the will of God is not the way a person gets saved. Rather, it is how the person seeks to live that has been saved. Obedience to Christ is absolutely essential – not as the way to be saved, but as the evidence that we have been saved.
So, what are the things the Philippians were to practice?
The things you have learned.
Paul is referring to the truths that he and others had taught the Philippian believers. This would be the great doctrinal and moral truths of the Christian faith. The Philippians would have learned of
- the virgin birth, sinless life and miracles of Jesus;
- the Deity of Christ,
- of the triune nature of God,
- of the personality of the Holy Spirit.
- They would have learned that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
- They would have learned salvation is not of works.
- They would have learned of God’s eternal election of His people.
- They would have learned of His everlasting love for them.
- They would have learned that He had adopted them into His family,
- redeemed them by Christ’s blood,
- justified them by His grace,
- reconciled them to Himself,
- released them from His wrath,
- rescued them from the kingdom of darkness, and
- freed them from the dominion of sin.
They would have learned that
- their duty was to be witnesses to everyone of the truth and power of the gospel and to make disciples of all the nations.
- they must love one another;
- they must forsake all sin;
- they must deny ungodliness and worldly desires;
- they must live righteously, soberly and godly in this present age
The things you have received.
There is a difference between learning something and receiving something. The first has to do with the mind; the second has to do with the will. Once you learn something, you must receive it. You must make it your own. You must appropriate it to yourself. I can learn that someone is offering me a gift, but it is not until I reach out and receive that gift that it does any good for me.
I can learn that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But just knowing that truth is not enough. I must receive that truth. I must believe it, and rely upon it.
I can learn the truth that I must make disciples of all the nations. But knowing that is not enough. I must receive that truth. I must make it my own. I must set about to make a disciple of Jesus.
The things you have heard and seen in me.
Now, Paul is pointing to his own example. Paul had ministered among them. They had heard him teach and preach. But they had also seen him live his life. They had watched him. They had seen how he invested his time. They had watched how he interacted with other people. They had seen him love the brethren. They had watched him strive against false teachers. They had seen him give selflessly to minister to the church and the lost. They had watched him to see whether he was a humble or a proud man.
This is not the first time Paul has called the Philippians to follow his example. In Philippians 3:17 he wrote, “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” In 1 Corinthians 11:1 he wrote, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
So, the command is to practice those things you have learned, received, heard and seen in Paul. It is not enough to know. We must do. If we fail to practice these things, we are only deluding ourselves into thinking we are genuine believers, when our lives prove we are false disciples.
The Promise.
“and the God of peace will be with you.”
Interestingly, we had 4 commands given in verses 4-6, followed by a promise. The four commands were
- Rejoice in the Lord always
- Let your gentle spirit be known to all men
- Be anxious for nothing
- Let your requests be made known to God.
The Promise was – “and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Now, we have the same thing. We have two commands
- Dwell on these things
- Practice these things
These two commands are also followed by a promise – “The God of peace will be with you.”
First “the peace of God will be with you.” Then, “The God of peace will be with you.” This second promise is even more precious than the first. It is a wonderful thing for the peace of God to be with us, but it is even better for the God of peace to be with us. If the God of peace is with us, He brings to us not just peace, but every other good thing.
Do you see how important it is for you to practice these things? The promise for the God of peace to be with you is attached to your obedience.
Conclusion
I want you to leave here this morning with two big ideas filling your mind.
- That you must make time regularly and consistently to meditate on God’s Word. I’m not talking about reading it, or listening to it. I’m talking about thinking about it, reflecting on it, dwelling, pondering and considering it. Read a while, and then meditate. And do it with a pen in hand.
- That you must practice the things you see in God’s Word. It is not enough to know something. God requires that you do it. Decide this morning that the next thing you see in God’s Word, you will apply to your own life immediately.
Let’s pray.
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