Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Years ago, I was boogie boarding with my family and my kids. We were going in and out of the waves, having just an absolute blast. About an hour passed, and we finally came in to shore, and we were looking around for the rest of our friends and family, and we couldn’t figure out where they were. It’s because we had drifted, like 200 yards down the shoreline.
You know, drifting is very, very prevalent in each of our lives in the Christian life. Paul gives us an amazing Verse of the Day, which helps us and keeps us from drifting spiritually.
It's Philippians chapter 3, verse 1. "Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith."
Two Safeguards for a Steadfast Faith
The book of Philippians is an epistle about joy and encouragement in the midst of very difficult circumstances. The apostle Paul’s in prison; he’s under house arrest, and he’s basically writing without a lot of access to people. He wants to write these dear people to encourage them.
As you think about this, people sometimes think, well, the way you keep from drifting is more discipline, more knowledge. That’s true. The apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3, verse 1 gives us two safeguards for a steadfast faith.
Rejoice in Christ, Not Circumstances
Number one, rejoice in Christ, not circumstances. Rejoice in the Lord, not circumstances. “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.” By the way, in case you forget that, a chapter later, in Philippians chapter 4, verse 4, he says, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!"
You know, a lot of people have emotional problems: anxiety, depression, discouragement. There’s all kinds of problems you and I have when we just don’t choose to rejoice, and we allow the circumstances in life to suffocate us. I’m guilty of this. We all are sometimes. Paul, again—his circumstances were much worse than ours, and yet he says, “Rejoice in the Lord.”
You cannot truly rejoice when your trust is in changing circumstances. It’s because joy was never meant to rest there, in your changing circumstances. Christian joy is rooted in Jesus Christ.
Remind Yourself of God’s Truth
Number two, remind yourself of God’s truth. Why? Because it’s a safeguard for your soul. “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.” Then Paul says this: “I never get tired of telling you these things,” which means he’s already told them, and he’s going to tell them again, “and I do it to safeguard your faith.”
He says it again in chapter 3, verse 1, and in chapter 4, verse 4: "Rejoice in the Lord."
Now, why else is it a safeguard, given the context? Look at the verses after. He says in verses 2 and 3, "Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved."
In other words, these were Judaizers, and they were basically saying, you got to add works to the grace of God. You got to add perfect human performance to the work of Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, you can look in Philippians chapter 3, and Paul had all this in his asset column. He was a Jew. He was a Pharisee. In terms of the law, he was blameless. This was all in his asset column. But Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 it was rubbish—in the Greek language, skubalon, manure. That’s how bad it was.
Not because good works and being a good person is bad, but if you trust in good works for your salvation, it’ll damn your soul. Paul warns them and gives them safeguards and reminds them of these truths.
Bringing This into Our Lives
How do we bring this into our life? Number one, trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We’re not after religion. We’re not trying to moralize our behavior. People who are moral, people who are religious can sometimes intimidate us, can’t they? They say, just do this and do this and do that. Yes, in the Christian life, once we come to Christ, we should have good works in our life, because it’s a result of the evidence of what’s going on inside.
But coming to Jesus Christ is by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 say, "God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God."
Number two, remind yourself to rejoice. Peter says this in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 12. After he gets done telling the people, “Add to your faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love,” he says, "So I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught."
Peter did that. He reminded them. Here, you’re to remind yourself, and so am I. I’ll remind you as we close, in Philippians chapter 3, verse 1, and then here in Philippians chapter 4, verse 4: "Rejoice in the Lord. I will say it again—rejoice."
May we resist the temptation to rejoice in circumstances, and rejoice in the Lord, because He is ultimately the One that we can truly rejoice in.
