Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Greeting

At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much to the passage we are going to look at tonight

Three short verses about a conflict within the church

There’s really not even much detail

But this is an emminently practical passage about how to handle correction within the church

Division is poisonous to the church

Discord and division become no Christian.

For wolves to worry the lambs, is no wonder; but for one lamb to worry another, this is unnatural and monstrous.

Genuine Love

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Therefore

In most cases this transition requires the reader to asκ what has come before

In this case it points not ony to what has come before, but to what is to come

Paul expresses his genuine love for the Philippians in five distinct statements

my beloved brethren

Throughout the letter he has addressed the Philippian believers in this manner

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Here he is emphasizing his love for them and their kindred spirit as fellow children of God

whom I long to see

Even in his condition in prison Paul longs to see his friends

This phrase carries with it that deep, gutural need for a friend or loved one that you have left

In the Navy we used to call this channel fever - as our deployment comes to an end, our thoughts turn to the family we have left behind and our desire to see them

my joy

Here the Philippians are the cause of Paul’s joy

This is a contrast to what he wrote to them in

Here he is literally calling them the source of his joy

Paul took great joy in the growth and development of the churches he had planted

my crown

this is a reference to the wreath that would be bestowed upon a successful athlete at the Olympic games or to an accomplished visitor at a banquet

Paul is pointing to the Philippians as evidence of his successful venture among them on behalf of the Gospel

my beloved

He reiterates his love for them as he is about to issue a stern rebuke to them personally

There are only two times in the epistle that he sternly rebukes the Philippian believers - here and

This is true love - the willingness to tell the truth or to confront.

proverbs 27

Not like the world loves - the world says you can be whatever you want to be and calls it love.

The most loving thing one can do is to warn or confront someone when they are doing the wrong thing

But first he admonishes them to stand firm

This is both to stand firm in light of what he has just told them

Not to rely on their own strengths

To seek Christ

To stand on the strength of the Gospel

and to stand firm in the task he is about to lay out before them

Stability is a core issue for Paul as he writes the churches

To the troubled church in Galatia he would write

Three times he commands the Ephesians to stand firm

,

And earlier in Philippians he wrote the core verse of the entire book

It is necessary to be willing to stand firm not only against incursions from outside of the church but also against needless divisions from within.

There is always the need to stand firm for the Gospel

But there is also the need to stamp out divisions that do not impact the overall truths of Scripture

He that is not a son of peace, is not a son of God.

All other sins destroy the church consequentially, but division and separation demolish it directly.

Building the church is but an orderly joining of the materials; and what then is disjoining, but pulling down?

Many doctrinal differences must be tolerated in a church.

And why, but for unity and peace?

Therefore, disunion and separation is utterly intolerable.

RICHARD BAXTER

Spiritual Maturity

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On the part of Euodia and Syntyche

It demonstrates a great amount of spiritual maturity on the part of these two women that they could be called out publicly like this and accept it.

These women were not simply two busybodies who would get themselves in a huff over being addressed in this manner

In the church today this probably wouldn’t happen

There is a significant resistance to the practice of church discipline or even telling someone they’re wrong

In 2015 a church by the name of Watermark Church reached out to one of its then members with the following letter:

They were blasted on social media after the letter was posted

“I just wanted you to know that the actions against you … do not represent all Christians and offend many,” writes a woman.

“Reading this while reflecting on the person Jason is,” notes another, “I can’t help but to feel hurt and angry.

At the same time, I also feel fortunate to work for a church that lives by the words ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors’.”

Yet here we have two ostensibly prominent women of the church being called out publicly with strong language to settle their differences

These women were potentially among those who began the church

Paul will later refer to them as those “who have shared my struggle in the cause of the Gospel”

This is reminiscent of how he characterized the whole church in

Unfortunately history doesn’t divulge for us what the outcome was

On the part of Paul

Being confident that the women would recieve this rebuke well

He appeals to them to settle their disagreement because they belong to the Lord.

This is the fruit of the prayer he has prayed over the Philippians

Discretion in broadcasting whatever the issue is

We are never told what the issue is

Some issues don’t need to come to light - except for those who need to be involved in resolving the issue

Do not strive after division, but bring peace to the ones who fight.

Judge justly, do not show favoritism when bringing sins to light.

THE DIDACHE

It is important that when issues like this come up that they be handled in as discreet a manor as possible

matthew 18:

There are times that discipline is necessary

And there are times that an issue is so public that it takes a public response to repair it

The ultimate goal is to restore harmony in the Lord

Two learned doctors are angrily discussing the nature of food, and allowing their meal to lie untasted, while a simple countryman is eating as heartily as he can of that which is set before him.

The religious world is full of quibblers, critics, and sceptics, who, like the doctors, fight over Christianity without profit either to themselves or others; those are far happier who imitate the farmer and feed upon the Word of God, which is the true food of the soul.

Luther’s prayer was, “From nice questions the Lord deliver us.”

CHARLES SPURGEON

It Takes A Village

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Paul now turns his attention to the rest of the body in Philippi

There has been much speculation as to who the “true comrade” is

As well as Clement

and the rest of the Paul’s fellow workers

The important point is that our Christian life is meant to be lived in community and shared with one another.

47 times in the New Testament there are “One Another” commands for the church

60% of these are written by the Apostle Paul

1/3 of them involve unity in the church - seems like this was anticipated to be an issue