Paul loved the church in Philippi. He seemed to be closer to this group people than to most other churches. We can see his affection beginning in the first chapter and extending throughout. “I thank by God upon every remembrance of you.” “I have you in my heart.” “I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” After these direct expressions of his love, there are yet other more incidental reflections of his heart. And I think that our text is one of those expressions of love.
Paul was the missionary who started this church in Philippi. Many of the people then in the church were his spiritual children. Maybe as he dictated this letter, he pictured Lydia and the jailer who had been saved after beating him and putting him the stocks. They were his “beloved and longed for,” they were his “joy and crown.” One thing we see in this book is that Paul never assumed any Apostolic supremacy over these people. He speaks to them as if they were equals, as if they were close friends. The only difference between him and them was his experience and his God-given wisdom. He was not management while they were the employees. He was not the guru and they were the initiates. He was not the drill sergeant and they were the recruits. He treated them as fellow pilgrims traveling up the road to glory. And, I assume, they consider themselves to be his friends as well.
But the people of Philippi were also going to be Paul’s crown some day. As he writes, he may be thinking about the day that we all stand before the Lord. “They who turn many to righteousness shall shine as lights in the brightness of the firmament.” There will be many at the bema – the judgment Seat of Christ – who are honored above nearly all others. And one of keys to their joy that day, will be the hundreds who stand behind them as result their ministry. Paul undoubtedly will be one of those people with a huge train behind him.
This relationship gives Paul the ear of the people to whom he was preaching. How hard it is to hear the exhortation when the hearers don’t respect the teacher. Paul had the respect and love of the people of Philippi. And in that love he said – “My brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”
Stand fast in the Lord.
This is one of Paul’s favorite thoughts: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” “Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” “Brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” There may be a dozen scriptures like these. Why? It is because we are surrounded by forces and enemies who want to knock us off our spiritual feet. Our legs are incapable on their own of withstanding the onslaught of attackers. But if we are standing firm in the Lord Jesus, we can withstand anything. What are some of the things which can shake our steadfastness and sweep us away?
First, there are the common but powerful forces of every day life. Our secular duties, our occupations, our daily distractions at times imperceptibly push us off center. There is nothing so strong as gentle pressure, constantly applied. Have you ever wondered what happened to the nose on the famous Sphinx in Egypt? I know you have. That huge tomb took decades to create and wore out thousands of chisels, hammers and workmen. When the last of those workmen were finished, you can be sure the face the Sphinx was quite handsome. But today there is no nose on that noble face. It wasn’t looters or drunken men with rifles who that knocked it off. It was the continual onslaught of a trillion tiny grains of sand. The little things are always working on us to knock us away from our nearness to Christ.
Then there are the sudden attacks of bigger temptations. Have you ever been greeted by a friend with your right hand outstretched in order to shake his hand. But when he finishes the proscribed 3 pumps, he doesn’t let go, but pulls your hand toward himself? Because you aren’t prepared, you are almost pulled right down on your own Sphinx nose. Every day there are power gusts of sinful wind which can catch us standing balanced on only one foot. We have to be either strong or very nimble not to fall right over. If by our agility and skill we are able to keep upright today, there is no guarantee we’ll succeed tomorrow.
And then there are those problems which arise out of our own hearts. How many times has your joy been turned into jealousy, when there really wasn’t any reason for it? How often has your happy smile inexplicably morphed into sadness in a matter of a few minutes? “Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” The problem seems to be in the shallowness of those hearts of ours. As most of us know, the tides of the ocean are caused by the gravity of the moon. So, for part of the day the seas are moving west, and for half the day they lean toward the east. But down in the depths of those seas the currents, the fish, the kelp and the crustaceans, know absolutely nothing about those tides. The gravity of the moon has no effect on the deep water. The reason that we don’t always enjoy the peace we should have, is that we are too shallow. The cause of our blue day, is not chemical, but rather it is that we aren’t standing fast in Lord. Our thin walled hearts are porous – permeable by the weakest of problems. Determine to stand fast in the Lord, dearly beloved.
Not only does the text tell us WHAT to do, it suggest HOW we are to get it done.
“In the Lord” not only indicates WHERE we are to stand, but also HOW. It is only as much as we keep ourselves in fellowship with Christ that we will be able to stand. We’re talking about our hearts, our minds, our wills and our energies.
Saturday night that we had some pretty strong winds in our neighborhood. The next morning, there was one of those inflatable Christmas decorations in the swail in front of our house. Someone spent $30 or $40 for an ugly cartoon “Santa” and planted him in their yard, but the wind put him in mine. I thought about tossing him into my trash or moving him down the street, but I just left him. Thankfully, Monday, someone took him away.
I hope my neighbors know that I am a Christian. I hope they can see me as a child of God staked down to the grass in my front yard. I hope that there is no wind aggressive enough to blow me down or blow me away. I have confidence that as long as my heart is firmly planted in the Saviour, it cannot be taken anywhere. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Now what Paul has been saying is very important to saints of every caliber. But these words are especially important to those who are still young in the faith. The more mature we become through time and experience, the more we stand guard against falling or tumbling over. As many times as Bro. Steve has tried to pull me over with his sneaky handshake, I have learned to be on may guard. But new-comers might not be so alert. Children are more apt to make poor choices during a day than teenagers. And teenagers do not have the experience and insight that their parents have. And even the middle-aged are apt to make more mistakes than the frosty haired folk. But the truth is, no one is as solid-footed as he possibly can be. And the elderly are as apt to fall as the toddler, who is just beginning to walk. When someone comes along with a doctrine which you haven’t considered before, stand fast. It is always safer to err on the conservative side than to jump to conclusions and to switch horses in midstream. Some Galileans had done just that. We are warned to beware of being “tossed about by every wind of doctrine.” And when a temptation comes your way, you might not at first recognize it to be a temptation to sin. If it is something you’ve never tried before, delay trying it until tomorrow or next week, after you get some mature advice on the matter. Stand where you are, until you’ve had plenty of time to test the spirit of the thing.
Consider the motivation Paul gives us for standing fast in the Lord.
The words “therefore” and “so” link this verse to the end of chapter three. Stand fast where you are because of the great hope that we have in Christ Jesus, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” Christ Jesus is coming to make things right – including those things within the lives of His saints. He will perfect the incomplete work that has been done in our hearts.
We are reminded in this that the great impetus for our service and faith has nothing to do with whips and laws. Rather we ought to be moved by hope and joy, and we are made steadfast by the same. If we know that very soon our Saviour shall appear, and we shall appear with Him in glory – then we may be sure that keeping on keeping on is a very wise choice. “’Hold the fort for I am coming,’ Jesus signals still. Wave the answer back to heaven, by thy help we will.”
And one other thing – if we not steadfast, we might not have any right to entertain the Lord’s hope. If we are held to Christ only by a thread, are we going to stand fast? If we long to be near Him for eternity, then strive to be near Him today. If we are day after day becoming more like the Saviour, then we may have confidence that when he comes we shall be fully conformed to His image. But if we care not whether we stand or fall – we shall fall. If we care not whether He comes or not, then we are in deep spiritual trouble.