“So Stand Fast” (4)

“Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.” (Phil 4:1)

In Phil 4 Paul tells us how we can stand fast: “So stand fast”, i.e. stand fast in this way.
How?
First: “Rejoice in the Lord.” (v 4)
Second: “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” (v 5)
Third: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (v 6)

Then, fourth, stand fast by thinking in a good way.
Verse 8 tells us how we are to “think”; what we are to “meditate on”.

Thinking and Doing

If we are to stand fast it is important what we do .
But doing begins with the way we think.
Note:
– Verse 8: “Think on these things.”
– Verse 9: “These things, do.”

1) Sanctification begins with the way you think

You are what you think: “As one thinks in his heart, that’s what he is.” (Prov 23:7)
Where your mind is, is where you are!
Paul stated as much with respect to the wicked; he said their “mind”, their thinking, is “set on earthly things”. (Phil 3:18-19)
As a result, they make a “god” of “their belly”; they “glory in their shame.”
I.e. “As they think in their heart, so they are.”

If you are in Christ, you have been given a new heart (Ezek 36:26).
A new heart means a new way of thinking; a new way of thinking produces a new way of doing.
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”  (Matt 12:35.)
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (v 34)

But this new way of thinking, that leads to a new way of doing, is not automatic.
Your old nature within you is also trying to shape the way you think.
The Bible says you therefore must actively: “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Eph 4:22-23).
Learn to think differently

2) G.I.G.O.

Back in 1968 I was studying computer science at Sydney University.
I don’t remember a lot of what I learnt back then. But one thing the professor did drum into us was the GIGO principle: i.e. “Garbage In, Garbage Out.”
A computer is a machine; it can’t think for itself.
If you mess up by inputting gobbledy-gook you will only get gobbledy-gook out the other end.
Garbage in. Garbage out.

You are not a machine; you can think for yourself.
But the principle is the same: If you feed garbage into your mind, you are only going to get garbage out in how you think; and then in what you do.
Think garbage, you will do garbage.

In fact, the Bible goes further: Think garbage, you are garbage.
You are what you think! (Prov 23:7).
As Christians, we must learn to think differently from the way we used to think before we were in Christ.

But don’t despair. You are not on your own.
God not only gives you a new heart (Ezek 36:26). He has also given you His Holy Spirit to help you think, and do, differently (Ezek 36:27).

How are we to think?

Phil 4:8 lists six “whatever’s” in how we are to learn to think differently.
These fall into three pairs.

1) Reality: True and Worthwhile

 “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble (or, “worthwhile”) – meditate on these things.”

 * “Whatever things are true”

To learn to think differently begin by asking, “Is it true?”

Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, none of us sees the world as it really is.
This is especially true of those outside of Christ. (Eph 4:17-18)
One reason conspiracy theories abound is because men will not face reality; they want to make up their own reality.
Isaiah warned that, when men cease to “hallow the Lord of hosts” and no longer “fear the Lord”, conspiracy theories will abound. (Isa 8:12-13)

The result of warped thinking?
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)
We see this all around us today:
– Murdering children in the womb is called “good”; campaigning against it is called “evil”.
– Perversion of marriage is called “good”; defending the right view of marriage is called “evil”.
– Killing the elderly and infirm is called “good”; sustaining life under such circumstances is called “evil” etc.

“They conceive and utter from the heart words of falsehood.
“Truth is fallen in the street.
“So truth fails…”                                       – Isa 59:13-15.

Paul diagnoses the human condition the same way in Eph 4:18.
Then, he goes on to tell us to “put off the old man” and “put on the new man”.
And the first thing he says is: “Putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour,’ for we are members of one another.” (v 25)

Truth is especially important in relating as “members of one another.”
Unfortunately, when someone else offends us, we can easily let go of the truth. Because of the hurt we feel, we are tempted to demonise the person who hurt us.
Now there may be something they need to set right; it might not be possible to have a really good relationship with them till they do set it right.
But they are probably not as bad as the picture we have built up in our minds, as we have stewed over it. And if they are a brother or sister in Christ, they are still those for whom Christ died.
Don’t lose touch with reality, just because you feel hurt.

* “Whatever things are noble”

“Noble” means things that are “worthy of respect; things that are dignified, solemn.”

One way we lose touch with reality is by getting caught up in triviality.
The Preacher said: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…” etc (Eccl 3:4)
It is good to laugh. It is good to dance.
But we live in the Age (as Neil Postman put it) of “Amusing Ourselves to Death”.
Addiction to amusement and distraction removes us from living in the real world.

We need to take time to mediate upon what is worthwhile, what is dignified, what is solemn.
“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,” says the Psalmist, Psa 119:37
It is good to laugh, when it is time to laugh; and good to dance, when it is time to dance. (1 Tim 4:4)
But it is only as we take time to mediate upon what is worthwhile, what is dignified, what is solemn that we will stay in touch with reality. (See also Eccl 7:2-4)

2) Morality: Righteous and Pure

 “Whatever things are just (or, “righteous”), whatever things are pure – meditate on these things.”

The word “just” is the same as the word “righteous”.
It’s what lies at the root of our “justification”. At the root of our justification lies the righteousness of Christ – meaning Christ has fulfilled the law for us.

But, it is not enough that we rejoice in Christ’s righteousness counted to us.
We should rejoice in the law of God itself, by meditating upon it.
“Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psa 119:97)

“The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…” (Psa 19:8)
The world about us is blinded to what is pure: “Having their understanding darkened, they are alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…” (Eph 4:18)
What is the result? “They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.” (Eph 4:19 HCSB)
The thing about impurity and pornography is that you think: “Just a bit more, and then I’ll be satisfied.”
But you won’t. That is the thing about indulging in impurity – you will never have enough.
“Hell and Destruction are never full, and just so, the eyes of man are never satisfied.” (Prov 27:20)
It is really important we learn to think radically different from the world around us in this regard.
Impurity confronts us everywhere: on billboards, on TV, in magazines, on the so-called “news”. Yes, even in government legislation now.
We can’t pretend it is not there. That is not the truth, it is not reality.
As we have opportunity we must oppose it.

But you won’t guard your soul simply by being negative and opposing it.
You can only change the way you think as you positively, deliberately meditate on what is pure.
As Don Carson comments on Psa 139:23-24:

“David recognized not only that God knew his thoughts, but that any real reform in his life must begin with his thoughts…
“If you think holy thoughts, you will be holy. If you think garbage, you will be garbage…
“The remedy against sin is to spend much time, thoughtful time, meditative time, in the Scriptures. For it is impossible to get rid of the trash in our minds without replacing it with an entirely different way of thinking.”

3) Admirability: Lovely and Of Good Report

“Whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report – meditate on these things.”

Meditate on what you can admire; on what makes a person attractive:
– “Lovely” refers to attractiveness that others see, that others see in you.
– “Of good report” refers to attractiveness that others say about you.

As a Christian you are to nurture what makes you attractive in these two ways: by what others see in you, and by what others say about you.
Peter describes the attractiveness of a Christian wife (1 Pet ch 3): “Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel…”
Of course there’s nothing wrong with that; it’s good that a wife (and a husband) keep themselves physically attractive to each other – or, at least, “do the best with what they’ve got”.
But the most important aspect of a wife’s attractiveness is: “the hidden person of the heart, the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

The same is true when it comes to a Christian’s attractiveness, i.e. :
– A gentle spirit, Phil 4:5.
– And joy, v 4
– And contentment, vv 11-13. (See also 2:14-15)
These are the true beauty of the Christian.
These are the things that will attract others to Christ.

How can we nurture “these things” in our own lives?

“Meditate on these things”

Meditate!
“Remember! Meditate! Muse!” (Psa 143:5)
Ruminate!
Think of a cow chewing the cud.
Grass is hard to digest. So a cow chews a while, then swallows.
Down to its first stomach, the “rumen”, where it sits a while.
Then up it comes, to be chewed over again.
Then down, then up – until all the goodness has been extracted.

That’s what we do when we meditate.
– “True and worthwhile…” – think about that for a while, chew it over, swallow it.
– “Righteous and pure…” – do the same.
– “Lovely and of good report” – same again.
…until you get all the goodness out of what you have been chewing over.

“These things do”

Thinking must lead to doing.

In the parable Jesus told about the man who built his house on the rock, and the man who built his house on the sand, in each case the person heard the Word of God.
But only the man who builds his house on the rock “hears these sayings of Mine, and does them.”

Paul was an example of this: “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do.” (Phil 4:9)
“I’m not telling you to do anything that I am not prepared to do myself.”
He says the same in 3:17, where he also bids us to look out for other good examples to follow.

He’s not big-noting himself here. He acknowledges he hasn’t got there yet in 3:12.
But he is an example.
And he wants you and me to be an example, too, of all that is “lovely” and “of good report.”
He wants you and me to attract others to the gospel:
– by our gentle spirit.
– by our joy “in the Lord always.”
– by practising contentment.
“Be an example. Attract others to Christ by your eample.”

Above all, Paul looked to Christ Himself as his/our Great Example.
After all, that’s what sanctification is all about: being conformed to the image of Christ. (Rom 8:29, 2 Cor 3:18)
Christ is our Great Example.
If you want to think right, think like Christ.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (2:5)

And you will stand fast.
And “the God of peace will be with you.”