Characteristics of Christian Life

Sermon: Philippians 2:12-18

Title: Characteristics of Christian Life

Outline

1. Background

2. Qualities of Christian Life

a. Obedience (Verses 12–13)

b. Shine as the Light (verses 14–15)

c. Hold firmly the word of life (Verse 16)

d. Rejoice in every circumstance (Verses 17–18)

Conclusion

Background

Before entering into the sermon, let us look at the content of Philippians. 

Philippi is a city in Macedonia. Paul wrote this letter when he was imprisoned in 60 B.C. 

Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi in order to give thanks and show the way to a right doctrine. The main reason behind Paul's writing this letter is to share the teaching that he has received. Philippians 2:12–18 talks mainly about how the Christian life should be lived. This letter is also called the "imprison letter."

Title: Characteristics of Christian Life

1. Christian life The Christian life is a life that is to be connected with Christ, where we can find peace, joy, and eternal life. There are a number of human beings in this world who are living here, but the life lived in connection with Christ is the precious one. Many times we say that yes, we are Christians but still lack something, but friends, let us see what Philippians 2:12–18 says about living the Christian life. It shows some of the things that every Christian needs to have in their life.

a) Obedience (vs. 12–13) Obedience is a very important quality that we need to have in our Christian lives. Many times we will be in obedience, but only for a short time. When there is a difficult situation, we will go our own way. As we know, during an exam we will be in discipline, doing our own work and writing without asking and looking to a friend’s paper only when there is the presence of a teacher in the classroom. But when the teacher goes out for a minute, we go on our own way, turning back, copying, and asking for help from our friends. Being obedient to Him means loving Him, as John 14:15 says, "If you love me, you will obey my command."

(ILLUSTRATION) There is one saying, "The greatest test in life is obedience." Many times we will be in obedience, but only for a short time. When there is a difficult situation, we will go our own way. 

b) Shine as bright as the light (vs. 14–15) We know that Jesus said in John 9:5, "I am the light of the world." John the Baptist, who was very much closer and dearer to Jesus, also said in John 1:8, "He himself was not the light; he came only to bear witness to the light." Light has its own work, which is to show the way for humans during the time of darkness. Here, Paul is encouraging believers in the Philippians Church to shine and be lights. We human beings cannot be lights by ourselves because light has its own power to shine over darkness, and we don’t have that power to shine. It is only possible when we carry Jesus in us. As we know, the lamp does not shine by itself, but the light inside the lamp does. 

A lamp does not have its own light, but when the fire comes in, it shines. We need to shine as brightly as the sun, but it is only possible if we carry Jesus in our hearts. When we do receive that light, which is Jesus, in our lives, we will shine and be a light in a warped and crooked generation.

c) Hold firm to the Word of Life (V. 16). Here Paul is encouraging believers to confidently hold the word of life, which is God’s word. 

Paul is reminding them that God’s word is life. As he also mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." Without God’s word, it is not possible to even take one step ahead successfully. 

In our spiritual lives, we need to hold very tightly to God’s word; if we lose His words from our lives, we will fall into temptation and commit sin very easily. As David says in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." If a person wants to climb a hill with the support of a rope, he or she needs to be holding the rope very tightly; if they don’t hold it, they will fall and get injured. Same as in our lives, if we fail to hold the word of God in our lives, we may slip into normal things very easily, get low, and become paralysed in our spirits.

d) Rejoice in every circumstance (Vs. 17–18) Paul describes his joy at being able to serve, though he does refer to his life as a "drink offering."

This refers to the Old Testament practise of pouring a drink offering in worship (Num. 15:1–10, 28:1–8). After a priest would sacrifice a lamb, ram, or bull, he would pour wine beside the altar. This symbolised the dedication of a person in worship to God. Living a Christian life means to rejoice in every area of our lives; it is not like worshipping God when we are in good times and blaming when life is having a hard time. In both areas, we need to rejoice in God, for everything is in His hands, and He will control all of the problems and suffering that we are going to get. Paul is not anxious about his death; instead, he is sharing his joy with everyone, even the believers in Philippi. 

 Conclusion

As we listened, we learned that living a Christian life means to be obedient, shine as the bright light, hold the word of God, and rejoice in every circumstance. The true Christians are recognised not by name but by their behavior. Almost all of us believe that we are living a Christian life, but, my dear friends, we need to ask ourselves some questions here.

Are we really obedient to Christ? 

Do we shine like the bright light? 

Are we holding on to the word of God? 

Do we rejoice in every circumstance in our life?