Living in a Perverse World
(Philippians 2:12-16)
Part 2
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Part 2
That reminds me of the end of the very last book in the old testament.
The book of Malachi this is a word of comfort God is promising judgment from the
prophet Malachi and in verse 16 of Malachi 3. We read
this.
16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of
remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
In the future and that was exactly what the people of
Malachi’s time were saying what’s going to happen and the lord gave attention and heard it
I love this a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear
the lord and who esteem his name they will be mine says the lord of hosts
on the day that I prepare my own possession and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him so
you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked between one who serves God and one who does not serve
him God has a book and in that book are the people who belong to him and none of them are going to get washed
up in the judgment this is important because we have to
understand people that we are living in a Romans 1 world of judgment
this is how it is but we are his.
We are his own possession for behold the day is coming burning like a furnace and
all the arrogant and every evil doer will be chaff and the day that is coming will set them
ablaze now you’re looking at eschatological judgment.
So that it will leave neither root or
branch but for you who fear my name. The son of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings and you will go forth and skip about like calves from
the stall.
You will tread down the wicked for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am
preparing says the Lord of Hosts what day is that the day that Christ returns to establish his Kingdom it will be a
day of fire and judgment but the Lord knows those who are his.
We are safe because our names are written in his book
so with that as an introduction to our thoughts.
How are we to live in this world.
Knowing we are secure and knowing at the same time that we’re
living in a culture under judgment.
To answer that question I want you to look at
Philippians chapter 2
I want you go verse 15
15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea,
they that tempt God are even delivered.
Let’s begin there Philippians chapter 2 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
nation. Among whom you appear as lights in the world holding fast the word of life
so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in
vain nor toil in vain. This is a very very important portion of
God’s word!
We are described as blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst
of a crooked and perverse nation among whom we appear as lights in the world holding fast the word of life.
I just want to pose three questions here:
Where are we?
Who are we?
How are we to live?
Where are we to look? Look at verse 15. Where are we?
We are in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
This was true actually in the case of the Philippians. When this letter arrived in Philippi.
Philippi was a city in Greece in northeast Macedonia Along the Ignatian highway which was
a Roman trade road. So it was a town that basically had to absorb people going
both directions. It was somewhat cosmopolitan. It was on the Strymon River
which also allowed for some some concourse to move on the water. So it was
a strategic place. There were gold mines by the way in the
Philippi region. Those gold mines attracted Philip of Macedon.
Philip II of Macedon was the father of Alexander the great. He was drawn to this place because
it was strategic in terms of trade and because of the gold mines.
So he annexed the region. In other words he drew it to himself as as part of his
Greek Empire. He fortified a small town at the time. The small town was known as
Trinidades just a small town. Trinities means the little fountain
it had natural springs.
After he took over that town and fortified it. He renamed it Philippi so it’s named after Philip of
Macedon. The Greek pagan the Romans then conquered it. When the Romans conquered the Greek Empire.
The Romans conquered Philippi in the second century BC and it became still known as Philippi.
Roman conquering it. Turned it into a Roman Province
in 42 BC.
This is kind of an interesting historical footnote 42 BC. One of the
greatest battles in Roman history was fought there. It was a battle with some very familiar figures it was called the
battle of Philippi.
The forces of Antony Marc Anthony and Caesar 110,000
men defeated the forces of of Brutus and Cassius who had 90,000
men 40,000 casualties.
It was a bloodbath the battle actually marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire
At that point Philippi was largely settled by soldiers who were the roughest and toughest
and most sinful and gross of people in a culture very often.
Many soldiers settled there the citizens were given full Roman Status.
It became a pagan idolatrous crooked and perverse
place.
The Lord led Paul to Philippi to establish the first church in Europe on
his second missionary journey.
The story about that is in the 16th chapter of Acts.
It starts out with Paul being thrown in jail. You know the story of the Philippian Jailer.
The believers there were desperately poor. They’re actually described in Second Corinthians Chapter 8.
That’s a familiar text.
Ii’ll just give you a little bit of insight into the condition of the people in
Philippi by reading a few verses out of that eighth chapter
Now brethren we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the Churches of Macedonia.
That’s where Philippi was in a great ordeal of affliction. Their abundance of joy and their deep
poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. They were profoundly
poor, even the believers but at the same time they were extremely generous
they were also persecuted.
If you go back into Chapter 1 of the Philippians you see
in verse 27 only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
So that whether I come and see you or remain absent. I will hear of you that you’re standing firm in one
spirit with one mind. Striving together for the faith
of the gospel. In no way alarmed by your opponents. Which is a sign of destruction
for them but salvation for you. So that introduces us to the fact that they had
strong ( fact chapter 3 verse 2 says they even had)
jewish opposition from the dogs the evil workers.
The false christians down in verse 18.
It says many walk of whom I have often told you and now tell
you weeping. They are the enemies of the cross of Christ verse 18.
Then verse 19 whose end is destruction. Whose god is their appetite. Whose glory is in their shame.
Who set their minds on earthly things. You know how basic society is when it’s
proud of what is the most shameful of. its conduct to boast about your shame.
This is Philippi. There was also a measure of disunity in the church. Chapter four Paul
says my beloved brethren. Whom I long to see my joy and crown in this way stand firm
in the Lord my beloved. I urge you and I urge cynically to live in harmony in the
Lord get those two women to quit fighting he says
back in chapter 2 and verse 1.
He says if there’s any consolation or encouragement. If there’s any fellowship of the spirit.
Any affection and compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind. Maintaining the same love
United in Spirit intent on one purpose doing nothing from selfishness
or empty conceit but with humility of of mind. Regard one another is more important than yourselves don’t look out
for your own personal interest but for the interest of others.
So there’s a lot going on there’s paganism. There’s
corruption. There’s evil. There’s persecution. There’s division in the church.
So Paul writes this letter from Rome in the fourth year of his Roman
imprisonment. He’s waiting nero’s verdict on his life’
In spite of all that. I’ve said Philippians is known as the epistle of what is of joy the epistle, of joy
and Paul calls for them to be joyful, as they live in this crooked and
perverse generation now by the way that could be a description in general of the the
whole world in
Matthew 17:17.
Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?
how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Jesus said about Israel. You unbelieving and perverted generation.
Even Israel was labeled in the same way you perverted
generation.
I guess we could just sum it up by saying that’s how the Our World is.
It is crooked and it is perverted> Crooked is scolios from which we get
scoliosis the curvature of the spine.
It means to be bent or twisted to be deviating from the standard.
This is nothing new this deviation from the divine standard.
You remember I know proverbs chapter 2 and verse 11
wisdom and discretion will guard you. Understanding will watch over you to deliver you from the way of evil.
From the man who speaks perverse things. From those who leave the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness. Who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil.
Whose paths are crooked. Who are devious in their ways. This idea of being crooked and perverse
describes that natural human depravity. Which distorts and twists every sinner,
In fact in proverbs 21:8.
It says the way of the guilty man is crooked.
Isaiah 59:8
It says they’ve made their paths crooked and perverse The word is Diastrefo’
It means to distort. So anywhere you go in any city or any group
of people. You have people who are crooked. Distorted and bent out of shape
and Paul was really drawing that description of Philippi from the history
of Israel. Jesus also reiterated it in Matthew. It is also repeated in the ninth chapter of Luke.
So we have to understand that in general man is perverse and distorted.
The term generation is the idea of a nation. Those who are alike
the similarity of people in a nation. It is not the color of their skin.
It’s not their mutual ethnic history the similarity of people in any nation
is that they are crooked and perverse.
They are wicked. You can go to Romans 3:
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Their poison is under their lips. This is the world we live in.
So the first question is where are we?
The answer is we are exactly where the Lord wants us. We’re exactly where he wants us
we’re in a crooked and perverse nation.
Beyond that we’re in a nation that is according to Romans 1 under judgment.
It is manifestly obvious because we’ve progressed from a sexual
revolution to a homosexual revolution to the insanity of a brain and mind that
doesn’t even think straight. So that we protect people who don’t even know what reality
is. Did something go wrong NO!
Everything is exactly the way it’s supposed to be.
This is how the world is supposed to be.
This is how judgment works.
We’re seeing it as clearly as we ever could have seen it.
We are exactly where God wants us to be.
I know you feel like bailing out.
I know people say well I’m going to move to Canada.
All the canadians are coming here.
It’s worse there.
Well where are you going to hide?
What’s next Mexico? You are exactly where God wants you
to be. This is where we belong. So First Corinthians Chapter 5
I’m not asking you to avoid the immoral people in the world.
We’re not supposed to run from them. Listen to
29:41
verses 9 tru 13 of First Corinthians 5.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners,
or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral people
but i did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world or with the
covetous and swindlers or idolaters for then you would have to go out of the world.
No actually i wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he’s an immoral person or covetous or
idolater or reviler or drunkard or swindler. Not even to eat with such one.
I personally know this not what you or myself want to hear>
But this the Truth back by Scriptures.
My Ministry is a warning one.
I am warning of these things, so you can know what is going on in our country.
So, you can perpare and understand why things are happening our country.
So please read and study these Articles.
Part 3 Tomorrow Lord willing.
Love you all.
Tom Coffee
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
Living in a Perverse World (Philippians 2:12-16) Part 2