In the Philippians text, Apostle Paul is beseeching the church to remain in the unity of the faith that had been declared unto them by a faithful ministry. The church at Philippi was a good example of being truly appreciative and benevolent.
The apostle gives a number of general exhortations. He speaks of brotherly love, of being of the same mind, and of being cooperative laborers together. He also mentions some advice for everyday living: forbearance, prayerfulness, and thankfulness.
Then in the eighth verse Paul expresses several themes for a good thought life. The six areas are truthfulness, honesty, justice, purity, things that are lovely and of a good report. He said for praise and virtue to be in the life of a child of God; he must think on these things.
It is, and has always been, the lot of the devil to attack the areas that Paul is dealing with here in the text. Consider the heritage the Philippians had as a result of faithful ministers such as Paul and Timothy. He is drawing their attention to what they had already been taught. We must live the message that has been delivered to us by true pastors. Living the message will produce the fruit of the Spirit, which will exemplify forbearance, cooperativeness, and unity.
Paul dealt with the Corinthians and the Galatians, as well as the Philippians, instructing them to remain in the Gospel that had been declared unto them. Consider the text in Corinthians and Galatians above. Note that in each case the system the devil used to lure the church away was through other people… people, who were deceivers and false teachers. Yes, even people who compared their human reasoning with the leader’s, such as the case with Miriam, Aaron and Moses. Paul said, these people will TROUBLE you and pervert the Gospel. The Spirit of God never leads into confusion or trouble. But beware of these Judaizers and deceivers who will trouble you!
Church, if we will follow the trend of thought that the apostle gave to the Philippians, we will guard our minds with the helmet of salvation. For it is in the mind that the great battle of Armageddon is fought. Remember, the battle is not carnal; but is right against wrong and truth against error. In keeping the mind girded up in thoughts of truthfulness, honesty, justice, purity, and things that are both lovely and of a good report, the enemy has no real means of luring us into deception.
Sometimes an accusation of tale against another may be told, but it should have no effect on you, child of God, if you take the apostle’s advice. If we guard against what we hear and are careful of out thoughts, we will benefit and prosper. But if we lend an ear, thoughts will flood the mind, which are not conducive to Christianity. The Bible depicts a variety of examples of those who spoke out against another. Stop and consider the hindrance when Israel murmured against their leader, Moses. There is always a price to pay for this sin. If there were not any ears to receive the murmuring and complaining, the impact of the ones with the troubling report would have been far less.
May God help us, Church, to keep Paul’s words and to guard against the enemy of our souls. In Galatians 3:1, Paul said, “…who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…?” May we be as determined as Paul was in Romans 8:38-39, NOTHING shall be able to separate us from Christ---or from one another. Amen. [ The End ]