Finally, Brethren

Please take your Bibles with me and open to the book of Philippians Paul's letter to the

Philippians will be looking at only one verse here this morning from chapter 4 verse 8

Paul's letter to the Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. These are the words of God Finally brethren, whatever things are true

Whatever things are noble Whatever things are just Whatever things are pure Whatever things are lovely

Whatever things are of good report if there is any virtue if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things

Let us pray Heavenly Father We ask that you will grant us grace to understand your word

Fill us with your Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of Christ Jesus our

Lord Amen Please be seated as we come to this point in the life of our local congregation here at Ascension Presbyterian It seemed good to me that we would consider

Some closing instructions and admonitions that we see in Scripture We can call to mind several

Instances where these closing admonitions are given perhaps at the close of a ministry or at the end of a chapter in the life of the people of God or As frequently seen in the

New Testament at the end of a letter Some of these things that you may call to mind may include the book of Deuteronomy Really the entire book of Deuteronomy is

Moses's farewell address given to the children of Israel and Contains many closing exhortations at the end of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness for the

Exodus generation in this book Moses recapitulates the giving of the law the history and gives a reminder of the righteous and Holy demands and commands of a loving and gracious God this discourse was given on the east side of the

Jordan River and Given to the children of Israel before they crossed over into the land of promise

Moses's exhortations in the book of Deuteronomy can perhaps be summed up with the great

Shema found in Deuteronomy 6 4 Hear O Israel the Lord our

God the Lord is one You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength

We may also call to mind David's instructions to his son Solomon which are recorded for us in first Kings chapter 2 which opens with this verse

Now the days of David draw near that he should die and he charged Solomon his son saying

I Go the way of all the earth Be strong therefore and prove yourself a man

David the great king perhaps the greatest king of the Israelite Kingdom was described as a man after God's own heart and he was about to die and It would and would leave the kingdom in the hands of his young son

Solomon David perhaps gives his greatest and best advice to Solomon which we read in first Kings 2 verses 3 and 4 and Keep the charge of the

Lord your God walk in his ways to keep his statutes his commandments his judgments and his

Testimonies as it is written in the law of Moses that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn

That the Lord may fulfill his word which he spoke concerning me saying if your sons take heed

To their way and walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul

He said you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel Be righteous and an obedient man

David says and All will be well with you for the

Lord will provide We may also call to mind an incident in the

New Testament Where Paul bids farewell to the Ephesian elders, which is captured for us in Acts chapter 20

You recall the scene where Paul Calls for the elders as he is at Miletus on the beach

The elders come and Paul provides them some closing instructions regarding The care to which they should provide for their flocks

Most significantly he warns them saying that savage wolves will come in to ravage the flock

That men would rise up speaking perverse things Misleading things heresies to draw away the disciples

Paul's final instructions and admonitions were to be alert Stay awake be vigilant prepared for the attacks that would surely come and At the end of nearly every epistle that we have in the

New Testament There are always closing admonitions in addition to our verse here today.

We have 2nd Corinthians 13 11 Finally brethren farewell be complete be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and The God of love and peace will be with you

Or what we read in Ephesians 6 10 finally my brethren be strong in the

Lord and in the power of his might and Then Peter has in first Peter 3 8 finally all of you be of one mind

Having compassion for one another love as brothers Be tender -hearted

Be courteous not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling but on the contrary blessing

Knowing that you were called to this that you may inherit a blessing

We come today to a concluding moment of our own and it is fitting to take a closer look

At one of these admonitions that which we found in Philippians 4 8 I'll read it again finally brethren

Whatever things are true Whatever things are noble whatever things are just whatever things are pure Whatever things are lovely

Whatever things are of good report if there is any virtue if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things

This letter was written to the church at Philippi more likely set of churches in the city of Philippi Philippi was named after Philip of Macedon the father of Alexander the

Great it lay at the crossroads between the eastern provinces of the

Roman Empire a Colony of retired Roman soldiers was located there and the city

Had received the great blessing of being Roman citizens many of the inhabitants did

Paul first came to Philippi as you recall after seeing a vision which was recorded to us for us rather in Acts chapter 16 verse 9 a vision appeared to Paul the night a man from Macedonia stood and pleaded with him saying

Come over to Macedonia and help us Paul Silas and Timothy started to preach for the first time on the continent of Europe the first recorded baptism of a

European European believer is noted as taking place in Philippi Lydia the seller of purple was baptized by the riverside

After this Paul and Silas were the focal point of a riot That took place after the

Lord removed an evil spirit from a young girl the spirit

Through the girl was doing some fortune -telling and it provided no small fortune for her owners

For she was a slave and when she stopped they didn't like it This led to the famous account of the conversion of the

Philippian jailer, which is recounted for us in Acts 16 25 through 34

Paul was asked to leave the city after that moment, but he does return at least two times that we know of Recorded for us in Acts 20 and also he mentions it in 2nd

Corinthians 2 13 Paul writes this letter to a church in Philippi that he planted

After and during his long imprisonment in Caesarea or more likely

This is either written to them during his long imprisonment in Caesarea or more likely

When he was imprisoned in Rome There are several clues within the letter that would lead us to believe that in chapter 1 verse 13

Paul mentions the palace guard in chapter 4 verse 22 He mentioned

Caesars household more likely point to a Roman imprisonment

Since we are only looking at one verse of this letter I want to provide a brief overview of the major themes that are contained

Within the letter and I commend it to you. It is a wonderful letter We had the pleasure of going taking a year to go through this letter in the teaching hour last year

One of the major themes if not the major theme of this letter is joy Paul's affection for the

Philippian Church and the work of Christ that was being done in the church caused him great joy

He uses this word or word pointing to joy over 16 times in this letter

In fact just prior to this verse that we're looking at today in verses 4 through 7

Paul tells his readers that the antidote to anxiety is

Rejoicing he says in Philippians 4 for rejoice in the

Lord always again. I say rejoice Following in verses 6 through 7 be anxious for nothing

But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving Let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God that surpasses all

Understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus nothing reflects joy more than Thanksgiving and peace that we have with God Another Great theme in Paul's letter to the

Philippians are really in all of his letters is the Trinity throughout the letter

Paul's Trinitarian theology comes through time and again ascribing to Christ the same dignity and praise and glory as God the

Father in Many references he notes God the Father God the

Son and God the Holy Spirit and indeed one God and three persons

Another major theme of Philippians is the exaltation of Christ especially in his humility

We can see the this in these well -known verses from chapter 2 verses 6 through 11, which is a great hymn of Christ Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God But made himself of no reputation taking on the form of a bondservant and Coming in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance as a man.

He humbled himself and Became obedient to the point of death even death on the cross

Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that the name of Jesus at that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and Of those on earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess

That Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father In our opening hymn today we were reminded of this humility of Christ coming in the form of man but the one thing

I would call out here of the great humility and exaltation of Christ is his obedience to God the

Father We should remember that especially since we have a command to be like him

Another major theme is Justification by faith by grace through faith alone

Paul stresses that one cannot merit grace One cannot merit mercy

There is no such thing as earning your own salvation Our confidence in our performance and our works for salvation is a very great sin

Paul underscores this but by providing a history of his own life Zealousness that he had in keeping the law even to persecuting the church

He sums up the uselessness of this like this But what things were gained to me these

I have counted loss for Christ Yet indeed. I also count all things lost

For the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my lord For whom

I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain

Christ It is not by works, but by grace that you are saved

Another major theme is the Christian life Rather than a call to spiritual introspection.

The Christian life is a call to action Paul points that if we are to conform to him in his image

We must be like him and our Lord Jesus Christ was active in his earthly ministry

Paul notes that we are slaves of Christ. You may remember he opens this letter with this verse

Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ Our Martin translators do us a great disservice

By attempting to clean up the word slave by some other word

Carries a lot of baggage in our culture. The Greek word is doulas that we are slaves

And slaves do their master's bidding Especially we are to do our master's bidding and the serving of others

Caring for their needs and not just looking out for our own Paul writes in verse in chapter 2 verse 4 lets each of you look out not only for his own interests

But also the interest of others No one was ever commanded to look out for themselves only

Here Paul commands that we are to look out for others But also he reminds us

That living the Christian life will invite suffering The tribulations of the

New Testament are due to Christians Because they are fighting the world system

They are turning the world not upside down as our brother would reminds me often when

I say this But turning the world right side up is going to cause

Attention and of the negative variety And even though we have this great tribulation in this life

We have joy and power to make it through in chapter 3 verse 10 we read that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and In verse 4 chapter 4 verse 13.

I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me?

Man's effort in this area Manifests the power of God if we rely on God by faith

It is not manifested sitting on the couch It is not manifested in day by day trying to downplay the commandments of God the power and the strength of Christ are manifested in doing his will

Well, those are the major themes of this letter and Paul Brings a close to the letter to which he is writing and he opens our verse with the word finally

Paul writes here not a summary of what he has given already But rather a last bit of exhortation as he is closing this letter

He says finally brethren One thing that we can take away from this is he is identifying himself with us the family of God He's saying something akin to my brothers and sisters in Christ here is my final bit of advice

As a matter of fact, that's how JB Phillips in his translation Translates these this verse here is my last piece of advice

The Amplified version says and now for the rest as if Paul Realizes that he has said so much already

Now he's going to try to speak really quickly for this last set of verses

It is not a summary of what Paul has already said but saying something at the last that he has left unsaid until now as We will see in a moment

That this is last part of this letter is almost like David's admonition to Solomon I Go the way of all the earth

Be strong therefore and be a man Manliness in the

Hebraic culture was not something to be ashamed of but rather imitated Paul did not live in a culture when he gave an exhortation to manliness and manly behavior

That immediately had to be qualified because of a slight to femininity might be assumed

No Paul in this last section this one verse is calling on the

Philippians to man up The first thing that Paul brings their attention to or whatever things are true

There's one thing that immediately should come to our mind That the the

Apostle is saying that there are things that are true He believes in the objective reality of truth

It is only in our modern conception of truth that we believe that truth is based on things that are subjective your upbringing

Where you are from originally your sex or the color of your skin

That's not what Paul is talking about here We may call the mind when we hear that word truth the conversation between Pontius Pilate and Our Lord Jesus Christ at his interrogation

Paul Pilate asked him. Are you a king and Jesus responds that the reason he came into this world was to bear witness to the truth

And all who are for the truth will hear his voice

Pilate then asked that famous question What is truth? Pilate is not responding as if he's a 21st century hipster

Asking the question where the unspoken answer that there is no truth No, Pilate was quite.

Well aware there was such thing as truth and the

Apostle Paul underscores that here Commanding that the believers in Philippi and us by extension

Should be well aware of truth ourselves Christians should be aware of and display in their actions

Everything that is honest and just toward God Truth isn't just an agreement to some propositions

Truth can be lived and seen it should be our common practice

We should not perform partial duties Christians should never be

Unbalanced when it comes to the things that are true Unbalanced by being faithful and just in their religious duties

But neglecting their duties to their fellow man or vice versa Nor should we provide a false witness

To the carrot to our character and how we should carry ourselves

Christians should be true and their engagements true in their promises true in their statements true in their friendships

John Calvin said this truth is the integrity of a good conscience and The fruits of it.

What a great statement full balance of Every aspect of our being should be be pointing to Christ who said

I am the way the truth and the life and Remember Calvin says it should be it should bear fruits truth the integrity of our conscience

Should bear fruit and Christians should be a fruitful people when it comes to the truth

Christians should maintain the truth about God at all times His eternity is judgment

What God says about every man's character what

God says about things such as submission Submission within the family or within the church or to the state

Truth is the representation of the things that really are We should live as though things are true

Lip service is not what's required here True witness of truth is always a rat well -rounded exhibition that can be seen

Christians should always be striving for the truth and growing in our maturity in the truth the full support of scriptures and general revelation point to true objectivity, but we do have a word of caution when it comes here a

Man who is false in any way false in his engagements false in his statements false in his

Providence promises will always give disgrace to His profession of faith in a false

Witness and bear a false witness to his Lord and Savior But Paul continues and he says

Whatever things are noble Nobility and honor have fallen out of fashion in our day in our in disrepair in our culture

Honor is rarely seen in any sphere of life in the home or the workplace in the civil government and even in the church

This is on display nearly 24 hours a day Seven days a week with anyone with a ten -cent idea and a keyboard in front of them

Could spout off and attack Those who have walked longer in this life have greater experience have been

The Lord's for a long period of time have a credible profession of faith

Who have learned far more than day? These people use soundbite type statements and they think it is high theology

They lack to show honor to those to whom honor is due and All that high talk we've heard of Romans 13 in times past We didn't hear that reference much

To show honor to hub honors to modern man Believes that honor only goes one way and that is to himself

And sadly that will include some of us the modern Christian, but it should not be so Paul says that the

Christian should be quick to show honor to one another as a matter of fact He says that in Romans chapter 12 verse 10 an honor giving preference to one another

Christians are to respect to those to whom respect is due That list would start with God first and foremost and always

But also parents as we read today in our prayers of the people Elders in that case.

It means people older than you the elders of the church and really everyone this showing of honor

Consistent with a walk worthy of our profession Christian Christians should also be

Honorable not only showing it in some way but in their speech and also in their attire avoiding slack speech and slipshod manners an

Inappropriate dress. I'm not referring specifically to in modest dress.

Although naturally it would include that But in dressing and our attire thinking of the other person

Showing honor to them and how we carry ourselves and it's not that we should be thinking of what they'll be thinking of us

Look at me or something along those lines. No, we should be thinking of them and the honor that they have

We should not lean on our so -called Liberty, which we'll talk about in just a moment no, rather we should be quick to show honor to others and This would include keeping our distance from the profane the filthy and the foolish

Christians should be paragons of honor It should be said in and around us and the people to which we traffic with day in and day out

If they say you want to see what honor looks like look at the Christian That's what honor looks like I think it's part of our humility

We are commanded to be humble To walk humbly before our

God as Micah reminds us in chapter 6 verse 8 What does the

Lord require of you? But to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly before your

God But Paul continues Whatever is just Just or right or correct or as we might say righteous

Just not only with God and the things of God, but also between man and man

Giving to God what belongs to him and to man what is his do?

You really remember that in that? Teaching that our Lord gives on paying taxes

We render unto God the things that are God and unto Caesar the things that are

Caesar Well that goes it's true render the things that are God and the things are due to man that is justice

That is righteousness Paul is exhorting us to be agreeable to the rules of justice and righteousness in our dealings with man

We should never injure or defraud anybody nor should we bear false witness

Christianity does not exempt a man from the laws that bind people together and to the exercise of justice

But rather Christians should be most earnest To show righteousness and quick to do justice even to their own detriment

We must remember That justice is a very important topic to the non -believer

You can't even just have a cursory glance at our culture today and see that justice is first and foremost in the minds of people

Well, they're thinking about it incorrectly but they have it before them and These people are scrutinizing you day in and day out

And they don't care so much about the exactness of your religious observances

How often you go to church or how much you honor the Lord's Day or give service to others?

but they will take notice of you if You operate in any underhanded or shady way in your communications in the marketplace

Christians can make an impression on unbelievers by showing their uncorrupted integrity in all their dealings

The Paul continues and says Whatever things are pure the

Greek word here implies clean Those things that are chaste and thought and in our conversation without a mixture with sin an intentional mixture with sin chastity in every department of life

Paul is pointing out that the Philippians and to us that we should be a holy people

God said be holy For I am holy Our Lord Jesus Christ said be perfect for your father in heaven is perfect We should be ever mindful that we bear the name of Christ on us we are

Christians Naturally when we bring up purity and chastity our minds may drift to the relationship between the sexes

Time does not permit For a proper consideration and treatment of this subject

But I will ask a few questions and leave them with you Is the modern conception of the interaction between men and women in line with what the scriptures teach our concepts like boyfriend and girlfriend in line with the biblical picture of marriage and the relationships between Christ and his church

Should we underwrite emotional adultery while at the same time trying to avoid physical adultery

I Will leave that to you to study more But Paul is saying here.

We should be a holy people And he continues Whatever things are lovely

Lovely is a difficult word. I Don't know what it conjures up in your mind, but the underlying

Greek here implies something that is dear to everyone it is pleasing and attractive

Things that should make us beloved Things as make us amiable things that cultivate goodwill and cheer amongst men that cultivate friendship and love

Among men Christians should not be crabby sour or irritable and temper a sour and crabby

Christian is Out of place with joy and expressible a hot -headed

Christian is out of place with the peace that passes all understanding a

Stern faced and scowling Christian is out of place with love thy neighbor an unkind and severe

Christian is out of place with what Paul tells us in first Corinthians 13 a

Christian that finds fault and everything is out of place with considering it all joy a sour crabby stern -faced quick -tempered unkind unthankful

Christian Will quickly undo any good he tries to do and Paul continues

Whatever is a good report a few moments ago I had said that honor has fallen out of favor or out of fashion in our day really

Everything that we've talked about here so far has fallen out of fashion and so has the good report things that are truly reputable in The world at large is what is in mind here to give us a good name and a good reputation a good standing in the marketplace

Things that are commendable by all times and by all people things like courtesy politeness kindness respect those are the things the patterns to which

Christians should be a living example a Christian's usefulness depends on the cultivation of those things which are

More than anything else highly visible One man once said and I can't remember to whom it should be accurately attributed to at all times preach the gospel this man said and sometimes use words that our actions

Preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Perhaps better than our words

Remember also that Christians should always think good of one another

That's what we have in first Corinthians 13. It says love Believes all things hopes all things and endures all things we believe that our our brothers and sisters in Christ have a have

The right motives behind them. We hope that they do and we endure when they don't

We should be quick to give a good report as well as to receive a good report

Paul continues here and he says if there is any virtue a few moments ago

I mentioned that Paul was saying something akin to what David I Go the way of all the earth

Be strong therefore and show yourself a man This is where that connection means the word which we have

Translated here as virtue literally means manliness Valor or excellence

Paul is pointing to those things which by nature have true virtue

All those characteristics that we would add to be virtuous are those things which should describe a man

Christians should seek to cultivate those attributes within themselves Naturally, it would come at the opposition to vice

Sadly in our day the virtuous has been exchanged for the body and the scandalous

There's more desire today to be a rule breaker than a rule keeper

Those who Shun or move away from virtue think that they are cool

But what they really are rhymes with cool They are the fool Sadly, it is sometimes like that with the

Christian Well, we will try to move away from traditional Christianity and to be more like the world

Paul is telling the Philippians and us that we should be on our guard

Look at those things that are virtuous He goes on and say if there is anything praiseworthy, this is not a command to seek praise from others or To regulate our lives by the judgment of others.

No, but rather to devote yourselves to the performance of good works that merit commendation

Live in such a way as the unbelievers when they revile you for your faith and your beliefs

Will have no grounds for condemning your actions Peter puts it this way in first Peter 3 16 having a good conscience

That when they defame you as evildoers Those who revile your good conduct in Christ May be ashamed

Well, that's quite a list of items for us that Paul wrote to the

Philippians But that is not the exhortation His last sent part of this sentence is

Meditate on these things Well, I have said this many times

When we are faced by the challenges of temptation the Apostle gives us in Romans 12, you're familiar with this these verses

That we should renew our mind. Well, how do we do that? By this

Focusing on those things that are true That are noble just lovely pure of good report virtuous and praiseworthy

Meditate here implies taking inventory Going through your life and checking.

Am I doing these things? Are they the object of my careful attention and consideration?

Am I cultivating attitudes and Actions that are in line with the things which scripture gives us am

I thinking about my obligation to do so and To observe them and to think of what influence they may have in the world around me

Or to turn them over in our mind seriously Reason within ourselves and put them into practice

This was Paul's closing exhortation to the

Philippian believers To be earnest to think and to act like Christians That being part of the body of Christ is to bear witness to Christ in the world

It is part of discipling the nations Which is the

Great Commission? And it's a command given to the rank -and -file Christian the ordinary layman well as I come to my concluding moment,

I With some exhortations

My first one is to love one another John writes for us in his gospel quoting the

Lord Jesus Christ a new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another

By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another

No matter how much theology, you know No matter how many Bible verses you have memorized?

no matter how well you can argue the points of Christianity with others

One thing that our Lord says that will call attention from the world

To you and know that you are his disciples is the love that you show for one another

Well, how do we do that you might ask? Well, it's not just by churning up affectionate feelings.

Although it may include that One way is my second admonition serve one another in Galatians 5 13

Paul writes for you brethren have been called to Liberty Only do not use

Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh But through love serve one another in all of your discussions on Christian Liberty Were you reminded in those discussions to say that I have been given

Liberty to serve you? Maybe not But that's what

Paul is saying You've been called to Liberty and we have Liberty brothers and sisters

But we should use that Liberty to serve one another My next admonition is to bear one another's burdens in Galatians 6 to Bear bear one another burdens

Paul says and so fulfill the law of Christ bearing one another's burdens

Requires us to know your burdens. You should be quick to share your burdens

With your brothers and sisters so that they may help you to bear those burdens

One thing to keep in mind and that's probably true for all of these

That it is not a call for it for to have your burdens born as If you're walking around looking to give your burdens to everybody

No You should be concerned with bearing others burdens

My fourth admonition is to be kind and compassionate to one another

Ephesians 4 20 to 32 says this and be kind to one another tender -hearted

Forgiving one another even as Christ as God in Christ forgave you

Kindness is something else that I find hard to define sometimes We know it when we see it but rarely would we have to find kindness as Forgiving one another as being tender hearted

Well, I hope from now on when we think of kindness that it would be brought to mind that we are to forgive one another as we live in community with one another as we seek to reach the lost with the gospel as we labor here in This local congregation to reach out to Longwood and beyond There will be friction

There will be collisions there will be sin Be kind and compassionate to one another show your love for one another by forgiving one another

My fifth admonition is to accept one another Romans 15 7 says this therefore receive one another

Just as Christ also received us to the glory of God the ESV Translates the word receive as except as We reach and it worked for the gospel

New people will come in on a regular basis They may have different backgrounds

They may have different Nations of origin they may have different likes and dislikes and interests

But we are to receive them as we have been received and accepted into our fold and lastly encourage one another first Thessalonians 5 11 says therefore

Comfort one another. I'm sorry. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another

Just as you are also Doing the ESV translates this word comfort as encouraged and that is because We in the modern day

Don't understand what the word comfort means Sometimes we think comfort as a warm blankie or our favorite pair of jeans

Or a pair of sweats to throw on after a hard day But that's not what the word means

It comes from the Latin that means with strength as we live the

Christian life as we struggle against our temptations and the sins would so easily entangle us as We struggle to live in community with one another

We will need to encourage one another next month.

I will have been a Christian 22 years And as I've reflected back on those 22 years

The one thing that I think is think that is most needful from other brothers and sisters in Christ is encouragement well

That brings us to the end and I will close by quoting 2nd

Corinthians 13 11 Finally brethren farewell be complete

Be of good comfort Be of one mind Live in peace and The God of love

Will be with you all Amen Let us pray Our gracious God and father.

We are so thankful Lord that you have brought us together into this community into this local congregation known as Ascension Presbyterian Church and father we pray that as we've considered these things which we ought to do as Christians That we ought to do not only individually as Christians but Christians in community with one another

That you would give us the grace Lord to do it For we cannot do it on our own

If we were our striving would be losing We pray dear father that you would not only give us the grace but the strength and the comfort of The Holy Spirit To enable us to do that.