Philippians 2:12-18

If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

We're continuing our trek through Philippians last, not last week, but the week before that.

Chris preached on Philippians 2, the first portion leading up to verse 12.

I will be talking today about verses 12 through 18.

And before I get started here, I'm going to pray.

Lord, we thank you, God, for your word.

Thank you that we have it, Lord, and we're not in the dark.

Thank you, Lord, that you lead us always.

Pray, Lord, that you would bless this teaching, Lord, that you would speak, Father.

You would give us more reverence for you, more of a bold witness, Lord.

You would teach us how to live a life free from grumbling, complaining.

Lord, encourage us this morning.

Lift us up.

Lift any burdens, I pray, by your Spirit.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, so Philippians 2, starting in verse 12.

Before I read the text, the very first verse says, therefore, which to give some context,

what he's referring therefore to, is the past bunch of verses that actually Chris read.

So I'm just going to go back and read that as a backdrop for what Paul is about to lead into here.

So let's start at the beginning here.

So chapter 2 begins with verse 1.

It says,

Let each of you look not only...

Not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men,

and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So that's the context for what we're about to read.

Amazing text that Chris expounded upon.

If you want to go listen to his sermon, it may help with the interpretation of the rest of this.

But Paul here starts off by saying, therefore, or since, or because of everything I've just said here,

my beloved, in verse 12,

as you always have obeyed, so now not only in my presence, but much more in my absence,

work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God in you, both to will,

it is God in you who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Verse 14,

Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

that you may be blameless and innocent children of God,

without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,

among whom you shine as lights in the world,

holding fast to the word of life,

so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering,

upon the sacrificial offering of your faith,

I am glad and rejoice with you all.

Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Okay.

So here Paul is setting up his segue out of essentially giving us this image of God in Christ Jesus,

humbling himself, taking the form of a servant,

not counting equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but emptying himself,

him giving us this example of humility to follow in his steps.

He then exhorts them and says,

As you have always obeyed,

so now, not only in my presence,

but much more in my absence,

work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

That's the first thing I'm going to discuss here,

is what it means to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

But before I do,

one quick thing to note is that he says at the beginning,

a little bit of a buzzword nowadays,

which is,

he says to them that they have always obeyed.

Obedience.

You know,

it's clear in Christianity that we're supposed to obey God.

It is a little bit of a triggering thing for someone to require obedience to a man.

And here Paul says,

As you have always obeyed me,

not only in my presence,

but much more in my absence,

do such and such.

And so it's important to realize that God has

appointed authorities that are to be obeyed.

You know,

there are other places in scripture that,

um,

the scriptures say to obey your leaders and submit to them,

things like this.

And this is one instance where he references,

uh,

maybe his authority,

which can sometimes be a very difficult thing,

depending on,

uh,

your experience with leadership or your experience with authority.

But I would just say really quick,

before we head into the next portion of this,

that Paul's leadership and authority is very different,

um,

than the hurt and the existing authority or so-called authority that many of us have experienced

or can experience or other people have experienced,

because he's doing it in a way that not only is appointed by God,

but is as a father would have over his children.

You can see he starts off by calling them my beloved.

You know,

this isn't like a master slave relationship.

He prefers for it to be father and son.

And so just a quick note,

uh,

on leadership and even Paul's relationship,

the Philippians,

that he's endearing like a father.

He's not requiring things of them like a harsh taskmaster,

uh,

but he's actually representing godly authority,

um,

which requires obedience.

So,

he says,

as you have always obeyed.

So now not only in my presence,

but also more in my absence,

you know,

this,

this kind of means that,

um,

he's not looking for approval,

seeking obedience.

You know,

if you were to seek approval,

um,

there's a temptation to be more adamant about obeying when someone's there versus when they're gone.

Okay.

If you have obedience unto God,

um,

it's consistent across the board,

whether they're there or not,

you're obeying because you know,

uh,

that it's the right thing to do,

that it's from the heart.

And so Paul is affirming that.

He's saying,

not only in my presence are you doing this,

but much more in my absence.

Okay.

So

as they have always obeyed,

now much more do what?

He says,

work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God who works in you,

both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

That's the first thing I want to talk about is fear and trembling.

Okay.

Um,

there's probably a somewhat unfortunate,

uh,

misreading of the fear of the Lord throughout,

uh,

evangelical Christianity,

which,

uh,

fleshes itself out,

maybe in the phrase of like,

well,

you should never be afraid of God.

You know,

um,

you should,

you should never feel like you can't come to God,

which is true.

We should be able to approach God,

but it's not true that we should not fear God.

God absolutely,

without a doubt,

needs to be feared.

God is,

uh,

holy,

and he is supremely holy,

meaning that there's no one above him.

Everything falls below him.

There's no king on earth,

no government,

no nation that will contest the Lord's will.

He reigns above them all.

And,

uh,

similarly to authorities that we experience,

like governments,

or maybe take it down to local level,

like the,

uh,

local authorities,

police,

what have you.

Um,

if we regard them rightly,

we shouldn't fear them as we would,

um,

if we hadn't.

For example,

I don't,

I'm not afraid of the police or the cops because,

um,

I don't live in constant terror of them because I know what they're there for.

I know that they're there for good.

They're a good authority.

However,

if I'm a criminal,

I probably should be afraid,

you know,

because even the scriptures say,

you know,

that the authorities are not a threat to good conduct,

you know,

but to evil,

you know,

and you should stand in fear.

Similarly with God,

we should have a relationship to God as the utmost supreme authority that lives our life in fear and reverence of him,

because there is no one other than him.

If we,

uh,

die on our way home,

we will stand before the highest authority,

uh,

not only over earth,

but also in heaven.

Um,

and in that day,

um,

we will have to give an account for all that we've done.

But the question is,

how will God deal with us?

And I think it would be a mistake for us to live in such a way as though the fear of the Lord,

the supremacy of God doesn't exist.

Or maybe even what's happened is that through Jesus Christ,

the fear of the Lord is eliminated.

You know,

I think it's possible that amongst,

especially young people,

that when they come to the Lord,

what it means is,

well,

God and Christ has done everything for me.

You know,

uh,

I can just live how I want because he gave me mercy.

He loves me,

you know,

um,

which are all true.

But,

the Lord's works that he did for you

is not a license to forget about the Lord.

Uh,

we see in the whole Old Testament narrative

that God constantly was reminding them,

don't forget the God who brought you out of Egypt.

Okay?

And they,

they forgot him.

You know,

they didn't regard God as holy.

They didn't regard God with fear.

And God brought serious judgment.

Things didn't change in the new covenant

in terms of the fear of the Lord

and God's holiness.

They actually brought,

God brought them to its antithesis,

or it's,

uh,

or excuse me,

it's completion

in the new covenant

by giving man no excuse

to come to God

and to fear him

and regard him as holy.

And so,

when Paul says here,

to bring it back to our text,

he says,

work out your salvation

with fear and trembling.

Pretty much every experience

of the holiness of God

and the,

uh,

uh,

encountering God

in the,

uh,

in the Bible

has resulted in someone

actually trembling before him.

You know,

in Isaiah 6,

when Isaiah comes to the Lord,

doesn't even encounter

all of the Lord,

but just his train,

his robe,

he falls prostrate trembling.

You know,

he's immediately aware

of his own sin

in his life.

And,

uh,

what's interesting

is that God is not just

to be regarded as,

uh,

we shouldn't fear him

in a sense that

leads us to

terror always.

Like,

Isaiah trembled before the Lord

and then what did the Lord do

after he said

that he was a sinner?

He touched his lips

and cleansed him.

Right?

So,

we should live in a,

in a terror that,

in a fear of the Lord

that is right,

but not at the expense

of his other attributes,

like his mercy

and his love,

because he is the one

who cleanses us.

Right?

He's a good authority.

We shouldn't fear him

because he's a bad one,

essentially.

He is indeed good.

But what does it mean

to work out

our salvation

with fear and trembling?

I was confronted with this

as I was preparing

and I'm like,

do I live,

I ask myself,

do I live my life

as though I genuinely

fear the Lord

as the supreme authority

compared to any other authority

or person

at all?

You know?

Or do I regard man

in competition with God?

Do I say that

I fear the Lord

but really I'm afraid of

the things of this life?

And I was,

I was probing myself,

I was asking,

Lord,

give me more

genuine fear of you

as the supreme God

who rules.

You know?

Paul says

to work out

your salvation

with fear and trembling.

Similarly to

in Exodus

when

God delivers

the Israelites,

you know,

he gives them

Moses

as a leader,

parts the Red Sea,

leads them out of slavery

and

that was their salvation.

It wasn't salvation

necessarily

unto

bliss yet.

You know,

he led them

in the wilderness

and

eventually he

was going to lead them

into the promised land

but similarly to us

in the new covenant,

God has saved us

not by delivering us

out of slavery

of Egypt

but maybe

as a spiritual slavery,

right,

Egypt of the heart,

right,

and saved us

into

the new covenant

through his own blood,

parting of the

Red Sea

of his blood,

right?

And so

we should regard him

even more.

You know,

God dealt with

the,

what seemed to be

the outward

circumstantial

oppression

of

Egypt

on his people

and now

God has

not only dealt

with

those things

but in our hearts

he's dealt

with the thing

that

we never could,

you know,

and we should tremble

at the Lord

for doing this,

you know.

There was no other

person,

not in ourselves,

no Savior

out there

that could do that.

God himself

had to be the one

to take us out.

So what does it

mean to fear

and tremble?

I mainly was

thinking when I was

preparing about

the holiness

of God,

that,

do I regard

God as holy?

And just to

remind us this

morning,

not only that God

is holy,

but that holiness

means

apartness.

God is

other than

us.

We're not

like God.

You know,

the scriptures

say,

the Lord

actually rebukes

the people

in the scriptures

and said,

you thought

that I was

one like

yourselves,

like a man,

like I would

reason,

you know,

which is not

so.

A.W. Pink

says,

on God's

holiness,

he is so,

speaking of

his holiness,

he is so

because the

sum of all

moral excellency

is found in

him.

He is

absolute purity,

unsoiled by

even the

shadow of

sin.

All us

creatures live

underneath the

shadow of

sin.

We're being

saved out of

the shadow of

sin if we're

in Christ,

but God is

completely other

than us in

that he is

untainted,

not affected.

He rules over

sin with

utmost purity.

And because

of that,

we have to

regard him

as holy.

We have to

regard him

as high and

lifted up.

We have to

fear him

who is

utterly

perfect,

without any

flaw at

all.

What is

home?

Habakkuk,

Habakkuk 1.13

says,

the prophet

says,

you who

are of

pure eyes,

purer eyes

than to

see evil

and cannot

look at

wrong.

God's eyes

are purer,

so much so

that he

can't stand

to look at

evil.

He's so far

other.

We need to

treat God

this way,

Christchurch.

Not at the

expense of his

other attributes,

obviously.

but we

shouldn't

forget that

he is

always holy.

We should

fear him.

We should

work out

our salvation,

the salvation

that was

purchased by

Jesus Christ.

We should

work that

out with

reverence

and fear

to him.

I talked

a little bit

about the

narrative of

the Old

Testament.

This is

Deuteronomy

6.

In verse

10 it

says,

When the

Lord your

God brings

you into

the land

he swore to

your fathers,

to Abraham,

to Isaac,

to Jacob,

to give

you with

great and

good cities

that you

did not

build,

and houses

full of all

good things

that you

did not

fill,

and cisterns

that you

did not

dig,

and vineyards

and olive

trees that

you did

not plant,

and when

you eat

and are

full,

then take

care lest

you forget

the Lord,

who brought

you out of

the land

of Egypt,

out of the

house of

slavery.

It is the

Lord your

God you

shall fear,

him you

shall serve,

and by his

name you

shall swear.

So the

Lord is

actually to

be feared.

You know?

We should

approach God

with reverence

and fear.

We shouldn't

run away

from God

out of fear.

We should

approach him

through fear,

knowing that

he will

take us

in,

he will

accept us,

he will

love us,

he will

show us

mercy,

but we

should approach

him rightly.

Paul says

to work out

our salvation

this way.

Here's another

one in regards

to our

salvation.

Romans 11,

Romans 11:18–21

verse 18

through 21

says,

do not be

arrogant towards

the branches,

speaking of

Israel.

If you

are,

remember,

it is not

you who

support the

root,

but the

root that

supports you.

Then you

will say,

branches were

broken off so

that I might

be grafted

in.

That is

true,

verse 20

says,

they were

broken off

because of

their unbelief,

but you

stand fast

through faith.

So do not

be proud,

but fear.

There it

is.

Do not

be proud,

but fear.

For if God

did not

spare the

natural

branches,

neither will

he spare

you.

This is a

warning to

regard God

as holy.

He dealt

with his

chosen people,

Israel,

in a way

that he

kept telling

them,

understand

this,

that I'm

the holy

one.

All

others

might share

in holiness

resulting in

God.

Okay?

God does

not possess

holiness,

merely as

something that

he takes

up and

puts down.

God is

holy.

He's the

very definition

of holy,

right?

So we

should not

be proud,

but we

should fear.

Being grateful,

being thankful

in Christ

that we were

actually grafted

in.

This was a

miracle,

according to

grace.

Paul says

to work

out your

salvation

with fear

and trembling.

This one

really struck

me.

I was

asking myself,

I'm like,

do I live

my life so

that others,

if they were

to be kind

of a fly

on the wall,

you know,

can look at

me and say,

that guy

really,

he has a

really high

regard for

a supremacy

that is outside

of this world.

You know,

that guy

follows a

God that

is much

higher than

just the

president,

that is much

higher than

anything on

earth.

That guy

is in

submission

to the

Lord,

right?

Do we

live our

lives like

we actually

fear the

Lord?

Okay,

verse 13.

He says,

for it

is God

who works

in you

both to

will and

to work

for his

good pleasure.

So Paul

expounds,

he says,

when you

work out

your

salvation,

do it

with fear

and trembling.

And the

reason why

you should

fear and

tremble is

because God

dwells in

you.

You know,

like I was

just saying,

if God

is completely

other,

completely

holy,

that his

holiness is

so removed

from the

sinner,

he can't

dwell in

a sinful

vessel.

Paul's

saying that,

don't you

realize what's

happened in

Christ?

is that

God,

who is

so holy,

has come

down,

condescended,

wrapped himself

in human

flesh,

and then

entered by

his spirit

into you.

He's like,

you should

fear and

tremble.

God

dwells in

you.

What a

privilege to

even be a

person who

God might

enter into.

But what a

humbling thing.

You know what I'm

saying?

This is true,

Christchurch.

If God

really dwells

in us,

we should

understand the

God who

dwells in

us.

You know

what I'm

saying?

He says,

for it is

God in

you.

He doesn't

sit idle in

us,

right?

What does he

do?

He says,

for it is

God who

works in

you.

Not only does

he work,

but he

says,

both to

will and

to work,

which means

that God

transforms our

hearts,

who previously,

before he

had made us

born again,

had left us

to our own

will.

If I was

left to my

own will,

I would

only reap

corruption,

right?

I would

only,

the Bible

speaks of

sin being

actually the

bondage.

Our will is

in bondage

to sin.

I would

only choose

sin apart

from God's

grace.

And Paul

says here

that,

don't you

realize that

God is

the one

who wills

in you?

The reason

why you

can bring

him good

pleasure is

because he's

the one

who began

the good

work in

you.

He's

willing it,

you know,

to come to

pass,

right?

He's getting

those desires

inside of

you to

want him.

We should

fear.

Make no

mistake that

although we

have desires,

that the

origin of

those desires

aren't

necessarily

ours.

That

when you

realize that

the reason

that you

live your

life in a

way that

is pleasing

to God

is because

of God,

that makes

you humble.

That puts

you in your

place and

says,

wow,

like,

Lord,

apart from

you,

I don't

think I

would choose

you at

all.

You know?

In fact,

I think it

would be

to the

contrary.

You know?

So far to

the contrary

that looking

at my

life now

and the

decisions I've

made,

I can only

give you

praise.

Right?

It's both

to will

and to

work.

So God

doesn't just

change our

hearts and

then leave

us,

right?

Doesn't

make us

desire good

things and

then do

nothing,

right?

From that

place of

transformation,

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

the end of

it says that

he actually

our created

purpose was

for his

workmanship.

You know?

He created

us for good

works and

praise,

right?

Again,

not wrought

by us by

any means,

but he

did it so

that we

might accomplish

something,

okay?

So Paul's

saying that.

He's like,

you don't

understand.

If God,

if God who

is holy

came down

to this

earth and

now dwells

in you,

you're not

supposed to

be idle

anymore and

do nothing,

but you're

also not

supposed to

be heaping

up things

of the

flesh that

are old

desires like

malice and

these things

because God

actually is

transforming you

both to

will and

to work.

So not

only do you

have new

desires now,

but they're

for a

purpose.

They're

for to

do the

works of

God,

right?

And what's

the ultimate

end?

What do

all these

works end

in?

He concludes

verse 13

by saying,

for his

good pleasure,

okay?

God gets

delight from

our life

that he

indwells.

You know,

it's like

this circle,

you know?

But it's

not a

circle that

we're

removed

from,

you know?

It's not

that we're

over here

and God

just like,

all right,

I'm going

to take

over and

you're going

to just

kind of sit

by and

watch everything

happen.

No,

we are the

means by

which God

actually brings

completion to

the work,

brings

some self-pleasure,

right?

And so

when we

realize,

which Paul

is reminding

us about,

that God

is the

one who

lives in

us,

that he

actually

lives,

that he's

not dead

in us

or alive

in someone

else,

right?

But he's

living in

us.

Each person

who is in

Christ,

Jesus lives

in you.

That

produces

an awareness

and humility

and fear.

You know,

I think that's

the context

that we see

that Paul

is speaking

out of.

You know,

he just got

done saying

do nothing

from selfish

ambition,

but in

humility,

right?

Jesus humbled

himself.

He emptied

himself,

right?

We ought

to realize

that he now

dwells in us,

you know,

and be humble

about that.

For it is

God who

works in

you both

to will

and to

work for

his good

pleasure.

So Paul

exhorts them

to realize

who lives

inside of

them,

right?

To regard

him with

fear and

with trembling,

to still

approach God

as he is,

not how he

isn't,

or is not,

you know.

And then in

verse 14,

moving on,

he gives

an exhortation.

Verse 14

says,

do all

things

without

grumbling

or disputing,

that you

may be

blameless

and innocent

children of

God,

without

blemish

in the

midst of

a crooked

and twisted

generation,

among whom

you shine

as lights

in the

world,

holding

fast to

the word

of life.

So real

quick,

he starts

off by

saying,

do all

things

without

grumbling

or complaining,

and that's

one of my

other points.

So fear

and trembling,

realizing

that God

is in

us,

and then

this exhortation

to do

nothing from

grumbling

or disputing,

it says.

He says,

do all

things,

not just

church

things,

not just

work

things,

not just

home

things,

right?

Wherever

you are,

as long

as God

is in

you,

that means

wherever

you go,

God

goes with

you,

right?

Do

all

things

without

grumbling

or disputing.

How

often do

we complain?

You know,

like,

seems like,

honestly,

it's the

rule of,

or order

of the

day,

rule of

the day.

Like,

if you

can go

a day

without

being around

someone

complaining,

or you

yourself

not

complaining,

it's like

missing

a cup

of coffee

in the

morning.

You know,

it's just

like,

oh man,

I didn't

get my

daily dose

of grumbling,

you know?

It's like,

it's everywhere

all the time.

Seriously,

like,

there is a

spirit

that can be

shared

in the

workforce

that looks

like,

I'll just

gripe about

whatever's

lacking,

whatever I'm

not getting,

whoever in

authority is not

doing a great

job,

and it's

contagious,

you know?

It's just

like,

if you're

not griping

at work,

like,

what are

you doing,

enjoying

work?

You know?

And,

but it's

not just

work,

it's other

areas of

life,

you know?

It's at

our home,

you know,

when people

aren't with

you,

you know,

how do you

talk about

your wife?

You know,

how do you

talk about

your kids?

How do you

talk about

your roommates?

How do you

talk about,

you know,

insert your

personal

thing to

grumble

about,

right?

And at

bare minimum,

although people

might not

see it,

it comes

out still,

right?

But I

think to

hold to

this text a

little bit

more

specifically,

in the

context of

grumbling and

complaining,

he is talking

about the

onlooking

world,

looking at

our life,

right?

So he

says,

the reason

that we

shouldn't

grumble,

complain,

is that we

might be

blameless,

and that we

might shine

as lights

in the

world,

right?

So if

Adam goes

to work,

you know,

works with

all of his

city buddies,

and all of

them are in

a huddle,

grumbling

about such

and such,

or how the

new codes

are terrible,

or the

person in

authority is

this or

that,

but he's

not

participating,

grumbling,

or maybe

he says

something to

lead the

conversation

away from

grumbling,

maybe towards

some type

of gratefulness

for something,

that's going

to be weird

to them,

right?

That light's

going to shine

a little bit,

and people are

going to be

like,

wait,

you're not

joining in

the fun,

you're not

joining in

the obvious

thing that we

should grumble

about,

right?

That's one

example,

but we're

served many

examples.

Every day

that you

wake up,

there's

opportunities

that are

directly on

your plate

to complain

and grumble,

and in the

context of

this verse,

it seems to

me that

through Jesus,

we really

have no

excuse to

grumble.

Everything

is gift,

right?

Everything

is gracious,

right?

Not to say

that there

shouldn't be

things that

we should

address,

that are

issues,

but we

shouldn't

gripe about

our life,

we shouldn't

gripe about

others,

we should,

in humility,

address those

things,

right?

So my

question to

yours is

where do we

complain,

you know?

We're a

church.

We're

striving to

be, as

the Lord

said,

which is a

light on

a hill,

right?

Nobody

takes a

light and

puts a

basket over

it.

You let

your light

shine,

you know,

he says,

right?

And

recently we

have been

talking a

lot about

culture

building as

a body.

I think

this is one

value to

throw into

the mix

of culture,

especially

given a lot

of us have

strong opinions,

ideas about

things,

not even that

any of those

are bad,

but let us

take care of

not to

grumble,

period.

or to

use the

things,

maybe that

are good

ideas,

as a way

of grumbling,

you know?

But it

also doesn't

say just

grumbling,

it says

disputing,

too,

you know?

Maybe you

avoid grumbling,

but maybe you

just like to

fight,

too.

Maybe you

like to

dispute,

maybe you

like a

good dispute,

you know?

Yeah,

some fights

are worth it,

right?

Honorable,

honorable disputes,

but a lot

of times we

can get

caught up

in stuff

that is

not worth

it,

you know?

So,

do all

things

without that,

without grumbling

or disputing.

Why?

Why do we

do that?

So that

you might

be blameless,

innocent,

children of

God,

without blemish,

in the midst

of a twisted

and crooked

generation,

okay?

So the

reason that

Paul exhorts

them to

not grumble,

not dispute,

is because

the onlooking

world already

has enough

to blame

each other

for,

right?

The church

unfortunately

has enough

egg on

her face

to be

blameworthy,

it seems,

many things,

maybe some

not true,

maybe some

misrepresentations,

maybe things

that are

actually true,

right?

Paul is

exhorting them

to live a

life that is

free from

blame,

right?

And someone

will say to

me,

like,

geez,

blameless,

innocent,

without blemish,

like,

we're sinners,

man.

You know,

like,

we're never

going to be

blameless,

never going to

be innocent,

right?

Like,

it's true that

all of us

have sin,

and all of us

can be worthy

of blame,

but Paul is

talking specifically

about your

life being

free from the

blame of the

world,

right?

Like,

Paul says

that elders

must be

above reproach,

right?

They should be

free from

reproach,

not that they

should be

completely

innocent or

free from

sin,

right?

But if the

world looks at

us and they

were to do

just a brief

survey of the

areas of our

life,

well,

they'd be like,

oh,

man,

there's really

not many

areas of

blame,

you know?

That's what

Paul is getting

at.

We know that

because he

literally says,

among whom you

shine as lights

in the world,

right?

Just for the

purpose of

staggering an

unbeliever,

being like,

what is wrong

with you?

Like,

how do you

live so free

from reproach?

Like,

I feel like my

friends are all,

like,

all of us are,

you know,

blameworthy.

He's saying,

do this in the

midst of a

generation that

isn't like this

at all.

In the midst of

a crooked and

twisted generation,

right?

This generation is

so perverse in

so many ways,

and honestly,

a lot of it

results in just

being ungrateful.

Part of the

reason why

many people in

my generation

are the way that

they are is

because a lot

of lives were

laid down for