Consistent Obedience in the Fear of God

The Abrupt Shift to Exhortation: A Clarion Call to a Life Worthy of the Gospel

0:02 We return this morning to our studies in the Philippian letter. So may I urge you to turn in your own Bibles with me as I read Philippians chapter 1, verses 27 through 30. Philippians chapter 1, commencing the reading at verse 27. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear of your state, or literally your affairs, the things pertaining to you, that you stand fast in one spirit,

0:45 with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing affrighted by the adversaries, which is for them an evident token of perdition, but of your salvation, and that from God. Because to you it hath been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer in his behalf, having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now you hear to be in me. The Apostle Paul writing from his place of imprisonment at Rome to,

1:30 this congregation at Philippi, which had become very dear to him, records the substance of his praise and prayers for them in verses 3 through 11 of chapter 1, and then in verses 12 through 26, gives an account of how his own circumstances have fallen out to the progress of the gospel, and then something of his own inner struggle, with respect to his future, having on the one hand a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which desire would be fulfilled if the Roman executioner did his job,

2:12 on the other hand a desire to remain on and to be of service to the cause of Christ, and in particular to the Philippian church. Then as we noted two Lord's days ago, in verse 27 there is a very abrupt and radical change of emphasis, in the letter. From the record of his praise and prayer on behalf of the Philippians, to the account of his own personal circumstances and inward struggles, he now turns and begins directly to admonish and to exhort the Philippians themselves. And so verse 27 is a pivotal verse,

2:57 in not only the remainder of chapter 1, but all the way through to chapter 2 and verse 16. Right through that entire section, all of the concentration of attention is upon the walk and lifestyle of the Philippians, as the children of God. Well we noted then last week, that verse 27 or two weeks ago, begins with this general exhortation, which I entitled, A CLARION CALL TO A LIFE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL

3:35 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. And we notice the crucial importance of this call. It begins with the word only, above all else of supreme importance. The weighty form of this call.

3:56 It comes as an imperative, and it comes, as a present imperative it is a divine mandate but it is a mandate that is continually to be pressing upon the consciences of the philippians we noted the vivid imagery he does not use the ordinary word for walk but he uses a word which literally means live out your life as citizens they were to consider themselves as citizens of the kingdom of heaven and in every relationship to live in a manner which would reflect that citizenship and then of course the basic meaning

4:36 of the text is clear and it is this that there is a direct line from every element of the gospel to every facet of a man or woman's life there is no area of life upon which the gospel does not impinge and so the command is let the entire lifestyle reflect the the impress of the gospel let it be evident you philippians that you have not only embraced the gospel as the means of your deliverance from the penalty of sin from the dominion of sin

5:13 but let it be evident that the gospel calls men into a radically different lifestyle that impinges upon the totality of life in all of its reaches and in all of its dimensions but now the apostle is a good preacher and he's a wise pastor and a good preacher and a wise pastor will never hang general exhortations on a sky hook but he will always hook general general exhortations into the consciences of men and women with specific applications

Specific Applications of the General Exhortation

5:53 of the general principle in other words paul is not content for the eagle of that general exhortation simply to fly by the philippians that they might admire the majestic flight of the eagle he tells the eagle to pause in its flight and to drop upon the conscience of every philippian and to sink his talons into the conscience in specific areas so from the general exhortation look at the text now only let your manner of life be in the hands of the philippians and not in the hands of the men and women of the

6:29 gospel of christ he then descends to three particular applications of that general exhortation that you stand fast in one spirit number two striving with one soul for the faith of the gospel number three in nothing terrified by your adversaries then he gives the results of their obedience in the next word this will result in an evident token of perdition to the unconverted and of your salvation and then

7:09 the reason behind it for it has been given as a gracious gift of god not only to believe but to suffer but now you will notice that between the general exhortation which was expounded two weeks ago and the specific applications of that exhortation paul inserts what seemed to be some very insignificant words he could have moved very naturally in the text in this manner only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel

7:45 of christ that is stand fast in one spirit with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel in nothing terrified by your adversaries had he moved immediately from the general exhortation to the three specific applications it would have been very natural it would have been very clear but before he moves to the specific application he inserts these words that whether i come and see you or be absent i may hear of your state that and then he gives the three specific applications of that exhortation to the three specific applications of that exhortation

The Desired Pattern of Obedience: Consistency

8:30 now what is paul doing by the insertion of those words well let me suggest that what he is doing is this before he gives the specific application of the general exhortation he zeroes in upon the desired pattern of obedience both to the general exhortation and its specific applications the desired pattern of obedience is the desire to obey the general exhortation and its specific applications pattern of obedience is set forth in the apostles words that whether i come and see you or be absent

9:10 i may hear of your state he is securing for them in their minds both the pattern and the framework of the obedience which he commands and which he expects of them well what is that pattern involved in these words that he is securing for them in their minds both the pattern and the framework of these words let me suggest that it involves two simple things number one the pattern of their obedience is to be first of all consistent it is to be consistent paul says it is my desire and my

9:50 longing that your living worthily of the gospel become a consistent pattern of life i desire to know whether by prayer or by prayer or by prayer or by prayer or by prayer or by prayer or by prayer personal observation whether i come and see you or by accurate report brought to me by those who do see and observe your lifestyle whether i am present or absent the thing that i long for is to have a report that you are walking consistently in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of christ that is of these three particulars

10:34 that he will then underscore this means that as the people at philippa just like you and just like me will face their various sets of trials and temptations as they would face their own peculiar little cosmos their own peculiar little world of fits and moods and frames of mind and dispositions of heart and attitude and emotions amidst the full spectrum of all of the things that make up life for you as well as for them, the report would come back to him that there

11:17 was above all else consistency in the Philippians as they lived out their life as citizens of the kingdom of God in a manner worthy of the gospel.

11:34 Now the reason for this great burden should be obvious. Are the privileges of the gospel changeable or changeless? What's the answer? They're changeless, are they not?

11:51 Are the obligations of the gospel changeable or changeless?

11:59 Why you say they are changeless. Right. If the privileges of the gospel are changeless, if the essential content of the gospel is changeless, if all the gracious provisions in Christ are there and available to his people and all the obligations growing out of a saving embrace of the gospel are changeless, then consistency should be the hallmark of people who have taken to heart. The privileges and responsibilities of the gospel.

12:35 I did not say perfection. I did not say such an evenness as has no place for ups and downs and dry periods, periods of arrested growth, but the overall pattern which the apostle lays before the Philippians is clear. Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. That is, let it be consistent.

13:01 Consistently worthy that whether I drop in and see you and have the evidences before my eyes of your consistency, or whether people who have been in your midst come all the way to Rome as Epaphroditus did and bring me a report, this is what will gladden my heart to know that amidst all of the changes of society, all of the changes in your circumstances, all of the ups and downs. In your emotional patterns, all of the interaction with one another and all of the changes that brings, oh my dear Philippians that I may hear that above all else you are a consistent

The Desperate Need for Consistency in a Feelings-Driven Generation

13:45 people. The pattern of your obedience is to be consistent. And I want to say by way of application before I move on to the second thing involved in this text. What a desperate need there is in our day for consistent conformity to the lifestyle demanded by the gospel.

14:13 We live in the generation of feelings. When everyone is blown along in the course that's the rudder of your feelings taking, we are curses by the tyranny of our feltใyszыш requested by the gospel. We are cursed by the tyranny of feelings. There is no knowing to yourself but that which is presently supposed to be.

14:30 Lots and lots of times we see ex hollow feeling being the result of that kindness. We are cursed because we are used to this exhumation Gr mów Pharisee Rabbi to wash Téri by swallowing interessant questions. Many reaching there is also Lord God, which is the third character who does not honor his soul so that you are hurt. state. If it feels good, it's worthy of being pursued. If it feels good, there can be nothing

14:43 wrong with it. Though there are many things that lie at the heart of the cursed philosophy of a drug-oriented culture, this is one of the curses of the curses, is that it brings people to live for nothing more or less than their present feelings. ...eye with another, and pumping in another chemical that may give a little shade or wrinkle

15:15 or twist to a different eye. Books glutting the market on sexual technique so that couples can spend all their time trying to find some new little high in the bedroom. Wrinkle in kinky sex. That'll give them a hedonistic thrill. And the whole pressure of our society is the pressure

15:48 to live by your feelings. And if that pressure is in any way making an impress upon you, I'll dare to prophesy that the mark of your Christian life is inconsistency. Inconsistency. So that one never knows what he'll see when he looks at you.

16:12 There is... ...no pattern of pressing on when all of your feelings say, throw in the towel, turn

16:21 aside. There's nothing of that holy militaristic resolution that says, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. ...things that are behind. I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Having put my hand

16:49 into the plow, I will not turn back. That's Paul's great passion and concern for the Philippians. That the pattern of their obedience with respect to a lifestyle worthy of the gospel will be a pattern that is consistent. And oh, dear men and women, young men and women, fellows and girls, if there is anything that I and my fellow elders long for, I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back. I will not turn back.

17:21 for of this flock, it is that, that whether we observe you, whether others who observe you have occasion to report of you to us, this thing marks you. Not cleverness, not stories of hair-tingling, spine-thrilling experiences of ecstasy, no, no, but that what we see and what others see adds up to one word, consistent. Whether we come and see

18:00 or whether we hear of you, it is the same you Philippians can be counted upon to be those who live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ. And remember, in this paragraph it's evident that Paul was conscious that they were experiencing persecution, hardship which in some way patterned his own, for he closes by saying, having the same conflict which you saw in me and hear now to be in me. He said, you and I are in this together. It is not sailing on a sunny day for the Philippians. There were clouds, there were tempestuous

18:41 winds, there were people out to sink their ship. True of Paul, true of them. But he says, my great passion. My great passion and concern is lives worthy of the gospel and a pattern of obedience to that command marked by consistency. The person who knows what it is to attend to the means

19:08 of grace, no matter whether he feels like it or not, he goes to pray because he knows he ought to pray and must pray. And his Lord has said, men ought always to pray, whether they feel like it or not. He goes to pray because he knows he ought to pray and must pray. He comes and sits with God's people, whether he feels like it or not. He comes

19:31 and gathers to the table of the Lord, whether he feels like it or not. Who gathers to pray with God's people, whether he feels like it or not. Who has the discipline to turn off that unclean program on the television, whether he feels like it or not. Who has the grace to lovingly, tenderly nourish and cherish his wife.

19:54 Whether he feels like it or not. That's the point of the passage. Whether I come, whether I hear of you, one thing marks your obedience, consistency. But then the second thing in this, I'm convinced, is the heart of the passage. The pattern of that obedience is not only

The Heart of the Passage: Obedience in the Fear of God

20:19 to be consistent, but it is to be one carried on in the fear of God. It is to be one or an obedience carried on in the fear of God. If consistency describes the obedience in its outward manifestation, the fear of God describes it in its internal life and heartthrob. Now follow me closely. Paul was very much aware of the danger that

20:57 his presence as a man of God was a danger to him. He was very much aware of the danger that his presence as a man of God might well influence the measure of the Philippians' obedience to the revealed will of God. Follow me? He was very much aware that his presence as a man of God might greatly influence the measure of the Philippians' obedience to the revealed will of God. So he introduces that theme here, but he doesn't leave it. Whether I come and

21:28 see you or be absent. I want to hear that you stand fast. But down in verse 12 of the next chapter, look at the language. So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed consistency, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own

22:00 salvation with fear and trembling. You see what he's saying? He is saying you were consistent in your obedience when I was among you. But as then, so now. People will say that your

22:14 obedience and your lifestyle lived worthy of the gospel was simply the fruit of your attachment to Paul's charismatic personality. You came under the pressure of the influence of a mighty man. And because of his charismatic personality, because of the unique genius of his person and his ways and his manner of ministry, you're all just following a Paul cult. So Paul says, you know how to put that to the lie? Did you obey when I was with you? Now that I'm absent

22:56 and nothing of the charisma of my personality is there to distill. I know it's influence upon your minds and your spirits. Now that there is nothing of my burning eye and my pointed finger to be pressure upon your conscience, make it evident to an onlooking world that you are prodded by the eye of another and by the finger of another and by the charisma of another. The eye of God, the finger of God, and the charisma

23:33 charisma of the indwelling Spirit of God. You see, his great passion was that the pattern of their obedience, the framework of their obedience would be one marked by the fear of God. To the extent that this was true, they would manifest that their attachment was supremely to Christ and not to his servant. Use your imagination for a minute with me.

Illustrating the Absence of the Fear of God in Daily Life

24:04 Will you? And if once in a while you see a jester that doesn't look native to me, I've been listening to another preacher for a whole week, and I find jesters, see, coming out that aren't mine. They just get programmed in. And having sat for hours at Pastor Blaze's feet, a couple of weeks I'll be back to myself, so bear with me. It's not conscious. Those

24:24 things just get programmed into you when they come out, and I find my hand in a place that it normally isn't, and I wonder how it got there. So be patient. It's not to sleep slavish imitation. It's the absorption that comes from true listening. But now use your

24:39 imagination with me. Here's a couple at Philippi, and they have just been to the assembly on the Lord's Day, and they heard Epaphroditus reading the letter from Paul, the letter in which he said, I long to depart and to be with Christ, but I long to remain on and to help you. And he says, I have a high degree of confidence that I shall yet be released and returned for your further instruction. And so Mr. and Mrs., whoever they are at Philippi, say, wasn't that wonderful to hear that the

25:14 Apostle will in all likelihood be able to visit us again sometime in the future? And they discuss it about the table on the Lord's Day, and the whole family is thrilled at the thought of seeing him again. Well, Monday night is generally the night, the first Monday of the month, when Mr. and Mrs., whoever they are, plan a social time together. And so they're

25:36 discussing, and they're discussing, and they're discussing, and they're discussing, and they're deciding where they should go for their social evening. And Mrs. says, well, dear, you know, I'd love to see that such and such a play that's going on at the forum. And her husband says, but dear, what I've read in the local blurb about that play is that the plot is one that is terribly, terribly shot through with the themes of adultery and infidelity. And I've heard that there is ribald and unclean language in the play. And the

26:07 answer goes, well, I don't know. And the answer comes back and says, but we're not children. And that's the real world. And are we not free in Christ? And can we not go with discretion? And then the answer comes

26:19 back from the partner, yes, but did not that letter from Epaphroditus say, let your manner of life be such as is worthy of the gospel of Christ? How can we sit with a crowd that laughs at double innuendo jokes, that sneers at the sanctity of the gospel of Christ? And the answer comes back and says, but we're not children. And that's the real world.

26:38 And that's the reality of marriage and has belly laughs when someone is given to fornication and immorality in the plot. How can we demonstrate that the gospel has taken us out of that moral cesspool? Well, the answer comes back. If the apostle Paul was here, I'm sure we wouldn't invite him with us, but it'll be a few weeks before he comes. Oh, come on. We're mature

27:10 enough in Christ to take the gospel. We're mature enough in Christ to take the gospel. We're mature enough in Christ to take the good and leave the bad. You see the point I'm making? Paul says, whether I come, whether I'm absent, let the reports come back to me

27:25 that when you go to make a decision about what play you'll see down at the forum at Philippi, when it comes to decisions about how you'll spend your money, how you will react in given situations, he says, oh, that the report will come back that you are more motivated not by the fear of Paul, but by the fear of the living God. That you will make it manifest that your attachment is not to Paul, and the pressure that causes you to make ethical and moral decisions is not my eye, my finger, and the charisma of my

28:04 personality, but God's eye, God's finger, and the presence of the Holy Ghost.

28:12 Tuesday night, some of the fellows get together. It's their social time. And they like to eat whatever was the equivalent of pizza in that day, and snort down a little of whatever was the parallel of modern beer. And the fellows are sitting around talking, maybe even about the services of the Lord's Day, maybe even about Paul's letter. And they said, oh, wasn't that good to hear from the apostle and to

28:37 know that he loves us enough that he's willing to forego going to heaven to come back to Philippi? Man, he must really love us. Hey, can you give me a picture? Give me a piece of that pizza. Give me a little hot pepper. And so they go on with

28:49 the conversation. And one of the fellows says, hey, don't you think one beer is enough? Oh, well, you know, I know how to handle my beer. We've got liberty in Christ. He puts down

29:01 a second one, and a third one, and the laughter begins to get a little louder, and the conversation begins to become a little less spiritual. And one of the men says, hey, fellows, do you think we'd be snorting down this much if the apostle were here? And someone says, yeah. Probably wouldn't, but he won't be around for a few weeks. Only let your manner of life

29:24 be as becomes the gospel, that whether I am present, I may hear that the exercise of your liberty is governed not by my eye, my finger, my presence, but God's eye, God's finger, and God's breath. And they're talking about in the text, now let's move away from Philippi and come to the gospel. Welcome to northern New Jersey in 1981. And I want to articulate the principle this way.

The Principle: Material Alteration of Obedience Reveals Lack of Fear of God

30:09 If our striving for a life worthy of the gospel is materially altered, follow closely now. If our striving for a life worthy of the gospel is materially altered, that is, in its fundamental fabric and framework. If it is materially altered by the presence or absence of our spiritual guides, we have not yet learned what it is to live in the fear of God. That's the principle. Let me

30:48 give it to you again. If you don't get anything else, may God the Holy Ghost write this on our hearts as a congregation. If our striving for a life worthy of the gospel is materially altered by the presence or absence of our spiritual guides, we have yet to learn what it is to walk in the fear of God. You see, my brothers and sisters, it is only when we are walking in the fear of God all the day long that there will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change.

31:28 There will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change.

31:28 There will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change. There will be a change.

31:28 There will be any degree of constancy and consistency in living a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now you say, but wait a minute, Pastor. What is the connection between living in the fear of God and walking worthily of the gospel of Christ? That's a fair enough question. I want to answer it.

The Connection Between Fear of God and Living Worthily of the Gospel

31:50 Here it is. When man sinned and was driven out of paradise, what did he lose? The moment man sinned, he had an aversion to God, ran from God in his guilt and his shame, in rejection to the law of God, with no thought of delight in living under the eye of God. The text says that the man Adam ran to hide himself from the presence of God amidst the trees. Paradise lost

32:29 has its most beautiful end. Paradise lost has its most beautiful end. Paradise lost has its most tragic concentration on this very point. Man goes out of the presence of God, out from delightful communion with God, out from delightful subservience to the law and will of God.

32:46 And what did Jesus come to do? You remember what happened in his dying agony? It says when he cried, Tetelestai, it has been finished. What did God do?

33:03 God took his finger and pierced the top of that veil in the temple and he ripped it from top to bottom saying, because my son died, man may come back in to the presence of God, not only having his guilt pardoned, having his defilement cleansed, but to be so transformed as now to live within the veil in the presence of God. Paradise regained is the presence of God

33:46 restored in Christ. Chapter and verse, all right. He gave himself for us, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. And bringing us to God, keep us.

34:09 In the presence of God, so that we live all of life under God's eye, God's finger, and the charisma of the glory of our Redeemer. So that whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we do it to the glory of God, in the presence of God, under the eye of God, in the consistency of conformity to the divine. That's the connection. How can my life be worthy of the gospel, if I live in such a way as to indicate, oh, I'm in the presence of God in the morning,

34:53 when I have my devotions, and I pray to God, and I seek the face of God, and I commune with God. When I come from the place of devotions into the kitchen, and my wife burns my pancakes, and I speak harsh words, and I demean her, what am I saying? I'm saying the presence of God was there when I prayed, but the presence of God is not there in the kitchen. I'm free to speak as a man on whose heart and lips the gospel never made an impression.

35:24 How does your next door neighbor act when his wife burns his pancakes? He hollers at her. And when you do the same, you act as though the gospel never impinged upon your heart and upon your lips. That's right!

35:39 That's right! Why? Why? Why?

35:43 Why? Why? Why? Why?

35:43 Why? Why? Why? Why?

35:43 Why? Why? Why? Why?

35:43 Why? Why? Why? Why?

35:44 Why? Why? Why? Why?

35:44 Why?

35:48 When you go from church, some of you, and on Monday, you go by the 7-Eleven store to pick up some milk, and there you see that carousel of vomit, the carousel with its playboy and its hustler and whatever else is there, and you actually take money that God has given as a stewardship, and you clunk it on the counter to buy raw sewerage, to pour it into your eyes and into your soul. Why? Because you're not in the presence of God. You very

36:29 conveniently leave the sense of the eye of God, the finger of God, the charisma of the love of Christ. You very conveniently leave it out in the trunk of your car when you get out and go into that store. Then some of you ladies, you get your morning chores done, you get on the phone, you've had your devotions, someone calls and, oh, what you say on the phone, idle gossip. Did you know that? And were you aware of that? And wasn't it a shame

37:03 that? And out of your mouth flows the raw sewerage of gossip and unedifying speech. What happened? You left your God at the table where you had your devotions. You didn't bring

37:17 Him into the earpiece. You didn't bring Him into the earpiece. You didn't bring Him into the earpiece. You didn't bring Him into the earpiece. You didn't bring Him into the earpiece.

37:18 You forgot His eye. You forgot His finger. You forgot the charisma of the glory of a Redeemer who died to save you from sin, the sin of gossip, the sin of unkind, unnecessary speech. You see the principle? That's the connection between living a life worthy of

Three Questions for Self-Examination

37:44 the gospel, living a consistent life, living a life in the fear of God. I would love to go on and open up those three particulars that Paul says will be the manifestation of such a life, but they'll have to wait till next week. I want to bring the message to a conclusion this morning by taking three questions and pressing them on the conscience of everyone present in this place. Question number one, would the desires, I'm sorry, would the details of your personal life this past week have been any different,

38:26 if you had been in the presence of Paul or one of your elders? You got the question? Would the details of your personal life this past week have been any different, if you had been in the presence of Paul or one of your elders? Not to entertain Paul or one of your elders, simply to carry out your life and all of its God-given responsibilities with, as it were, a spiritual leader chained to your arms.

38:58 As Paul had a prisoner chained to his. Would the details of your personal life have been any different? If you had Paul chained to your arm, would your conversation on the phone have been any different when you spoke with a brother or sister in this congregation? Come on now, be honest. Would it have been any different? Would you have dared to say some of the things

39:23 you said with Paul at your elbow, with Pastor Clark at your elbow, Pastor Barker at your elbow?

39:34 Would you have made that jest with some of the fellows with Paul at your elbow? Would you have made that double innuendo remark with Paul at your elbow, with one of your elders at your elbow?

39:56 Would you have drank, would you have drunk and would you have eaten what and how much you drank and ate at every meal this week with Paul at the table, with one of your elders at the table? When you got together with the fellows for some beer and pizza, would you have belted down a six pack with Paul at your elbow, saying, let everything be done in moderation, be not drunk with wine? And drunkenness is not just in its advanced stage of stupor. Any imbibing of alcohol that causes you

40:39 to relinquish the full control of all your faculties under a disciplined, consciousness of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost has violated the command, be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. Come on, man, get honest.

41:03 Some of you would never have imbibed what you imbibed this week with Paul at your elbow,

41:12 with one of your elders at your elbow. Would you be willing to come out of your bedroom and look Paul in the eye and say, Paul, when you said that every man possesses, his own vessel, that is, his own wife, not in the lust of concupiscence as the heathen, but in sanctification and honor, the idea that a marriage license is a license to any form of sexual behavior is pure hedonism. The Bible says within the sanctity of the marriage bond,

41:49 there is a pattern of conduct that is like the heathen, and there is a pattern of conduct that is sanctified. Would you be willing to face Paul and say, Paul, what went on behind closed doors meets the standard of biblical purity? Or did you drag into your bedroom the filth you absorbed from your porno magazine? You see, that's plain talking, pastor, yes, because your sins

42:28 are plain, and your guilt is plain, and the judgment of Almighty God is plain. The Bible begins to be plain upon some of you unless you begin to take to heart the admonition, let your manner of life be such as reflects the power of the gospel even in your bedroom. What about your language with your wife when she displeased you, when she manifested a characteristic that was reflective of her own peculiar weakness? Did you nurture her? Did you cherish her? That's the language of Ephesians 5.

43:09 Did you seek, in the language of Peter, to give honor to her as the weaker vessel, or did you demean her? Did you put her down with harsh, sharp words? Listen to me, husbands! Does your wife this week know that you were living in the fear of God in your relationship to her? Would your conduct have been any different if an elder were there when she disappointed

43:36 you? If Paul were there, would your language have been any different? That's the point. Whether I come, whether I'm absent, I want to hear consistency of life lived in the fear of God.

43:53 Second question I want to ask you. The first was, would the details of your personal life this past week have been any different if you'd been in the presence of Paul or one of your elders? Second question, I've already asked it, so I'll just tell you what I should have said. I gave the application.

44:11 Would the details of your family life this past week have been different in the presence of Paul or your elders? Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers? Thirdly, would the details of your social life have been any different? Would the details of your business life, your school life? You see, when he says, let your manner of life, when is a citizen a citizen? Where

44:39 is a citizen a citizen? Well, a citizen is a citizen all the time and in every place. He never ceases to be a citizen. Mr. Barker and Mr. Spence are international travelers.

44:53 Get on a plane at Kennedy Airport and go on off to Japan or off to the Middle East. Mr. Spence remains a citizen of Australia wherever he is. Mr. Barker remains a citizen of the

45:06 United Kingdom, a British citizen wherever he is. Wherever I go, I maintain my citizenship every place, all the time. Paul says, let your manner of life. Be the living out of the citizenship of one who claims to be under the power of the gospel.

The Antidote: Be in the Fear of the Lord All the Day Long

45:24 Whether I'm there, whether I'm absent, oh, let it be consistent. Let it be marked by the fear of God. The text I leave on your consciences this morning is Proverbs 23 and verse 17. For in a sense, this capsulizes the whole burden that I have sought to discharge this morning.

45:48 Proverbs 23 and verse 17. Here it is.

45:57 Let not thy heart envy sinners. Oh, how this generation calculates to get us to envy their sinful patterns. The whole market, as it comes to us particularly in the glossy page and in the shiny tube, is to make you feel your life is not complete. Without this thing or that pattern and way of life marked by sinful, sensuous, materialistic perspectives and passions. And he says, don't let your heart envy sinners. Well, how can I be kept

46:41 from envying sinners? For if I envy them, then I'll imitate them. And if I imitate them, I'll be joining them in their sins. What's the answer? What's the antidote? Look at the text. Let not thy

46:53 heart envy sinners. But be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. There it is. Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. I profess that in

47:18 my nakedness and undone-ness I came to a gracious and able and a willing Savior who stood in the exalted Lord at the right hand of the Father in all the plenitude of saving mercy and power to receive guilty sinners the likes of myself. And he promises that receiving he would pardon, he would cleanse, he would break the yoke of sin, plant our feet in the way of his own reflected likeness, begin to conform us to his image, bind us with cords of love,

47:55 unto a life of holiness that will impinge upon every facet of my existence from the time I awake to the time I pillow my head at night. Now I am responsible to let my manner of life show that that's the gospel I've embraced. A gospel that says trust Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die and live as you please in the interim is not the gospel of the Bible. And if your life reflects that, then you're a sinner. And if your life reflects that, then you're a sinner.

48:28 That kind of gospel, that's another gospel. And you have a faith that is below the faith of God's elect. God not only has the right, he exercises the right to tell you what you can and cannot watch on your TV, what you do and do not do when your children disobey you. You're not at liberty whether to discipline them or not. God's told you what to do. And he's told you how to discipline.

48:54 You're not at liberty to be brutal in your discipline or to be overly fawning and sentimental and unprincipled. You have no liberty with regard to the rearing of your children. Christ has given mandates. You have no liberty to do as you please or to do as your own remaining corruption dictates in the intimacy of your personal life with your wife or husband. God has intruded the most inner

49:21 sanctuary of the bedroom and stamped on it holiness unto the Lord. God has a right to say how many beers you've built down with your children. God has a right to say how many beers you've built down with your children. God has a right to say how many beers you've built down with your children.

49:31 And how many you don't. Not your taste buds. Not your desire for a buzz. God has a right to say what you put into your body. It's his temple. He made it. He redeemed it. His spirit indwells it.

49:46 He says don't defile it. He has a right to your pocketbook and your passbook and your bankbook. You say that sounds like totalitarian claims. Exactly. That's what it is. He died to redeem us.

50:03 And you see the wonder is when we've tasted the sweetness, of his redemption, we've got no quarrel with that. The basic principle of our hearts is Jesus, Master, whose I am, purchased thine alone to be by thy blood, O spotless Lamb, shed so willingly for me. Let my heart be all thine own. Let me live to thee alone.

50:35 Now in the outworking of it, there will be, in fact, because there is remaining corruption fighting against that principle. And there will be individual defeats in areas A, B, and C. And there may even be periods of dullness and declension. But the basic issue is this, with all my heart, in spite of my failures, in spite of my shortcomings, in spite of those areas where I willfully, knowingly rebelled, Lord, you know, that I want to live as beneath your eye. The eye that wept for me in Gethsemane. The eyes that were

51:19 looked up in the horror of the darkness of Golgotha. The eyes that looked at Peter and said, lovest thou me? Lord, I want to live before those eyes. Can you say that this morning?

A Call to Dealings with God and Others

51:36 Out of love? My friend, if not, you better check your foundations. You better examine whether you're in the faith. And if you profess to be in the faith, may God write upon your heart and mind this text. Only let your manner of life be as becomes

51:56 the gospel. That's the general command. And what's to be the framework of the obedience?

52:04 Whether I come, whether I'm absent, I may hear of your affairs that ye stand fast.

52:13 Consistent obedience. Obedience carried out in the fear of God. Do you know that in your life? Some of you need to have dealings with God. You need to have dealings with husband and wife. You need to have dealings

52:29 with some of your brothers and sisters. Don't stop short of anything that's necessary to come by the grace of God to that place where you can pick up Philippians 1 and say, yes, there would be no material difference. In my lifestyle, if the apostle Paul himself were chained to my arm, because I'm living, not as beneath the eye of my spiritual leaders and teachers, but beneath the eye of my God and

Prayer for Consistent, God-Fearing Lives

53:05 my Redeemer. May God make it true for his glory and for our good. Let us pray. Our Father, many of us, must confess with shame that we have not lived out our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of

53:43 Christ. That we have been far more careful to please the eye of fellow mortals than the eye of our God and our Redeemer. Oh, how we pray. Lord, don't let this word fall to the ground.

54:06 Don't let us as a church be stiff-necked. Don't let us as a church be stiff-necked and proud and stubborn, justifying patterns of life that are denial of the gospel. Lord, don't allow this congregation to descend by degrees into carnality, self-indulgence, self-justification, and thereby grieve away the Holy Spirit. Oh, Lord, we would rather know what it is to live, and worship, and serve as a congregation for one year in this building in the power of the Holy

54:47 Ghost, than cumber the ground for fifty years, and not know the breadth of your mighty presence. God have dealings with us today, deep, specific, powerful dealings with all of our hearts. We thank you for our blessed Savior. We praise you for his pardoning grace, and his sustaining power. May we know that grace and power, operative in all our hearts,

55:20 break down every bastion of satanic deception, every breathing of his spirit of rebellion into human hearts, and bring us all captive to your dear Son. Hear our prayer, and may the blessings of your grace and your spirit rest upon us as we leave this building this morning. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.