Light In A Crooked and Perverse Generation
God’s grace be multiplied unto you this day!
We come today to a point in Paul’s letter to the Philippian Christians where he speaks honestly about the challenges they face in the world. These are words we would do well to take to heart. He is seeking to encourage them in their Christian life as they live in a world which is the opposite of all things which glorify God. Hear what he says to us today!
Do all things without complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. Philippians 2:14-16
We live in a world where everyone seems to wear their emotions on their shirtsleeves. People throw fits in the grocery store, they yell at fast food workers, and road rage is apparent everywhere. This spills over into the classroom, the family kitchen, and even in the church.
Paul’s words to “Do all things without complaining or arguments” is a call to conduct ourselves differently than we see in the lives of others. In almost every arena of life today it seems that the odd man out is the one who manages to be cool under pressure. Everyone else seems to be like a powder keg ready to explode. It is as we live our lives differently that we show the truth of who we are in Christ.
Paul then says, “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” which is a huge statement for him to make. What does it mean that the people of Paul’s day who were simply going about their business, living their own lives were a crooked and perverse generation? How would this apply to the generations of people among whom we live?
To be crooked and perverse is to be walking a different path than the morally upright path God has called us to walk. Crooked seems to fit this description in an easily understandable way. God has called His children to live life according to its original design. God created man to live as a reflection of Him in this world. Sin moves all people to live selfish, sin motivated lives. God in Christ has restored the original intent, and we are called to live our lives for Him in this world. The unbelievers in the world are simply unable to do this. To put it more plainly, an unbeliever cannot live, act, or think like a Christian! They do not have it in them to do so. All that is in the heart of an unbeliever is sin and rebellion against God. Understand what I am saying! There is absolutely nothing of value or redeemable in the heart of any person in this world! This is what makes grace so remarkable!
God did not have to love us and there was nothing loveable in us for Him to desire us! He chose to love us when we were unlovable and rebellious against Him. We were all part of this crooked and perverse generation.
It is as we live our Christian lives as those who do not complain and argue that we reveal something different to the world around us. We show peace and understanding where there has been none. We reveal for others to see what fills our lives and makes us different. We show Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
There is so much more we can say concerning what a crooked and perverse generation actually looks like. Where would you begin? The rampant immorality we see on our television screens and in people’s lives. How about the drug crisis which seems to be largely ignored? The child abuse which is molding and shaping the next generation of our land? Or the absolute inability of so many young people to simply live life as responsible adults?
There is so much sin and corruption present which is condoned and acceptable by the majority that the true Christian will actually stand out as odd or different because he or she is simply not like the rest. This is the first step toward being a witness! This is why Paul says, among whom you appear as lights in the world. Drawing upon the consistent theme throughout Scripture of darkness being equated with sin and light being the reflection of righteousness, the Christian is a “light” in the world.
This image carries a twofold aspect. First, the light shines upon that which is dark and reveals the truth. It is the Christian in the world which stands against all which is sinful and evil. It is as we show sin for what it truly is that we offer an alternative understanding to what most people assume is true or correct. Use abortion as an example! If it were left to the classroom teachers and the media, there would be no understanding of life prior to birth. Yet, the constant proclamation of the truth concerning life beginning at conception has almost won the day as we see abortion practices being scaled back across our land.
Paul concludes this section with the words holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. What does it mean to hold firmly to the word of life? To put it simply, it means holding onto the truth of God’s Word, specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ by which we have been saved. It means to never compromise the truth we have been given, regardless of the cost. It means to hold forth the truth even in a world which loves the darkness, and to be willing to suffer the consequences for doing so!
Paul’s concluding words focus on the end goal of his life. He says so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. He is looking to heaven and the freedom he will have when his time of travail in this world is over. His greatest desire is that those whom he loves and for whom he has labored will be present with him in the kingdom of God. Isn’t this what we all want? To have those we love, those we have invested our lives into, to be present with us as we stand before the throne of God. This begins with our family and works outward to everyone we know and all whom God brings into our lives as those who reflect His light in the world.
I pray we all have ample reason to celebrate as we enter into eternity. For what greater joy will be had than to know our lives served the purpose of God for His eternal glory.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
We come today to a point in Paul’s letter to the Philippian Christians where he speaks honestly about the challenges they face in the world. These are words we would do well to take to heart. He is seeking to encourage them in their Christian life as they live in a world which is the opposite of all things which glorify God. Hear what he says to us today!
Do all things without complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. Philippians 2:14-16
We live in a world where everyone seems to wear their emotions on their shirtsleeves. People throw fits in the grocery store, they yell at fast food workers, and road rage is apparent everywhere. This spills over into the classroom, the family kitchen, and even in the church.
Paul’s words to “Do all things without complaining or arguments” is a call to conduct ourselves differently than we see in the lives of others. In almost every arena of life today it seems that the odd man out is the one who manages to be cool under pressure. Everyone else seems to be like a powder keg ready to explode. It is as we live our lives differently that we show the truth of who we are in Christ.
Paul then says, “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” which is a huge statement for him to make. What does it mean that the people of Paul’s day who were simply going about their business, living their own lives were a crooked and perverse generation? How would this apply to the generations of people among whom we live?
To be crooked and perverse is to be walking a different path than the morally upright path God has called us to walk. Crooked seems to fit this description in an easily understandable way. God has called His children to live life according to its original design. God created man to live as a reflection of Him in this world. Sin moves all people to live selfish, sin motivated lives. God in Christ has restored the original intent, and we are called to live our lives for Him in this world. The unbelievers in the world are simply unable to do this. To put it more plainly, an unbeliever cannot live, act, or think like a Christian! They do not have it in them to do so. All that is in the heart of an unbeliever is sin and rebellion against God. Understand what I am saying! There is absolutely nothing of value or redeemable in the heart of any person in this world! This is what makes grace so remarkable!
God did not have to love us and there was nothing loveable in us for Him to desire us! He chose to love us when we were unlovable and rebellious against Him. We were all part of this crooked and perverse generation.
It is as we live our Christian lives as those who do not complain and argue that we reveal something different to the world around us. We show peace and understanding where there has been none. We reveal for others to see what fills our lives and makes us different. We show Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
There is so much more we can say concerning what a crooked and perverse generation actually looks like. Where would you begin? The rampant immorality we see on our television screens and in people’s lives. How about the drug crisis which seems to be largely ignored? The child abuse which is molding and shaping the next generation of our land? Or the absolute inability of so many young people to simply live life as responsible adults?
There is so much sin and corruption present which is condoned and acceptable by the majority that the true Christian will actually stand out as odd or different because he or she is simply not like the rest. This is the first step toward being a witness! This is why Paul says, among whom you appear as lights in the world. Drawing upon the consistent theme throughout Scripture of darkness being equated with sin and light being the reflection of righteousness, the Christian is a “light” in the world.
This image carries a twofold aspect. First, the light shines upon that which is dark and reveals the truth. It is the Christian in the world which stands against all which is sinful and evil. It is as we show sin for what it truly is that we offer an alternative understanding to what most people assume is true or correct. Use abortion as an example! If it were left to the classroom teachers and the media, there would be no understanding of life prior to birth. Yet, the constant proclamation of the truth concerning life beginning at conception has almost won the day as we see abortion practices being scaled back across our land.
Paul concludes this section with the words holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. What does it mean to hold firmly to the word of life? To put it simply, it means holding onto the truth of God’s Word, specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ by which we have been saved. It means to never compromise the truth we have been given, regardless of the cost. It means to hold forth the truth even in a world which loves the darkness, and to be willing to suffer the consequences for doing so!
Paul’s concluding words focus on the end goal of his life. He says so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. He is looking to heaven and the freedom he will have when his time of travail in this world is over. His greatest desire is that those whom he loves and for whom he has labored will be present with him in the kingdom of God. Isn’t this what we all want? To have those we love, those we have invested our lives into, to be present with us as we stand before the throne of God. This begins with our family and works outward to everyone we know and all whom God brings into our lives as those who reflect His light in the world.
I pray we all have ample reason to celebrate as we enter into eternity. For what greater joy will be had than to know our lives served the purpose of God for His eternal glory.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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