Philippians 4:1
“Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”
This last section of Philippians begins with Paul
exhorting the Philippians believers to stand firm. Do not give up the Christian
life! But it is not an isolated call to stand firm, it is a call to stand firm
in light of the beautiful truths that have come before this point. Stand firm
because of the gospel. Stand firm because of what Christ has done for us. Stand
firm because of the example Christ has set for us. And stand firm because of
the excellent role models who have stood firm before us.
This is also not a call to stand firm with no
practical application. Paul will go on in the rest of this chapter to outline
several excellent and practical ways we can persevere and not give up the
Christian life. Philippians 4 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible, and
is something I keep coming back to time and time again when I do face trials
and difficulties, because of the practical encouragement it offers for standing
firm in those times.
But why do we need this exhortation to stand firm?
Why do we need to be told not to give up the Christian life? Two answers come
to mind:
One, we need to be told not to give up because to
varying degrees we are predisposed to giving up when times are hard. It is a
hard lesson for young kids to learn that even when they fail at something, or
don’t understand something right away, that they should keep trying and keep
persevering until they succeed. This temptation to give up easily leads to
commitment issues, which can lead straight into adulthood. Matt Chandler notes
this about his experience as a college pastor:
“One of the things I noticed…was the large group
of students who wouldn’t commit to anything—a college major, a gym, a church, a
place to live, a group of friends. The only thing they seemed committed to was
being noncommittal. Every semester the talk would turn to another school they
might transfer to, a new major they were going to try out, or a new part-time
job they were interested in (because, you know, their current one was lame).”[i]
Two, given that we give up easily and have
commitment issues, we need to be told not to give up because our enemy takes
advantage of these weaknesses. If Satan can throw enough frustration and
hardship at us, it can be easy to throw in the towel. Consider the variety of
ways that we are tempted to give up in the Christian life:
- We are tempted to give up in prayer, especially when we do not see results, or see prayers answered differently than how we think they should be.
- We are tempted to give up on good relationships when there is conflict instead of doing the hard work to strengthen that relationship.
- We are tempted to give up and settle for a bad relationship with someone who does not love Jesus because we don’t see God providing us with a relationship with someone who does love Jesus fast enough.
- We are tempted to give up on sharing our faith because of a fear of rejection.
- We are tempted to give up on sharing our faith because it threatens our friendships.
- We are tempted to give up on what God has called us to do when it leads to hardship and trials.
- We are tempted to give up on our church when we get hurt by someone in the church (news flash: the church is full of sinners!).
- We are tempted to give up on discipleship and spiritual growth because it messes up our lives too much.
- We are tempted to give up on giving and tithing, because we don’t see God’s immediate provision for us.
- We are tempted to give up on ministry, because it takes too much time and it gets messy (same news flash: the church is full of sinners!).
This list could go on and on. But I think you get
the point. If we are predisposed to give up, and Satan is actively trying to
get us to give up the Christian life, then it is critical that we take Paul’s
words to heart and never give up. James 1:2-4 tells us that perseverance in
trials is what leads to spiritual maturity. So then in the trials that we face,
are we going to give up or are we going to persevere? What are the ways that
you are tempted to give up in the Christian life? Don’t give up, but stand firm
in the Lord.
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