SS Class Audio for 10-13-2013

http://tindeck.com/download/pro/siqo/%5Btindeck.com%5D+-+bclark_63%2B-%2BSS%2BClass%2BAudio%2Bfrom%2B2013-10-06.mp3

FBC SS Class Audio for 10-6-2013

http://tindeck.com/download/pro/avpd/%5Btindeck.com%5D+-+bclark_63%2B-%2BClass%2BAudio%2Bfrom%2B2013-10-06.mp3

ON GUN CONTROL

My response to a letter to the editor in the St. Louis Post Dispatch Dec 26, 2012 regarding gun control in response to the Newtown Ct. shooting:

"I think your comparison is good but a little bit off. You're exactly right that just because someone might perhaps own a Corvette they don't have a right to drive 150 MPH. They should obey the speed limits just like the rest of us. That's exactly right. In fact that's my exact position regarding assault style rifles or high capacity magazines. Just because I own an assault style weapon and high capacity magazines doesn't mean I should use them in an illegal or harmful way...but I still have the liberty to own them just like the guy who still has the liberty to own the Corvette. He should drive his Corvette responsibly and legally as I must use my assault style weapon and magazines responsibly and legally.


Also, just like the guy with the Corvette - his car looks like a professional race car and is a lot faster and more capable than a "regular" family sedan BUT it is NOT a professional race car. The corvette has very important features that make it road legal and safe vs a professional race car and it has limitations that a professional race car does not have. This is just like it is with what we call "assault style" rifles. They look like the guns used by the military but they have very important differences that make them legal and safer for public use. The main difference in what I own vs what the military uses is that my "assault style" rifle is semi-automatic only (just like most hunting rifles) whereas the military assault rifle is selectable between semi-automatic (one shot per trigger pull) and full automatic (multiple shots per trigger pull). There are other differences but this is the biggy.

There is widespread misunderstanding about guns and about these so called "assault style" rifles. The ONLY differences (in terms of lethality) between a citizen version of a typical "assault style" rifle and a typical semi-automatic deer rifle are two: 1) the deer rifle is usually much more powerful than the assault style rifle and 2) the assault style rifle can accept larger capacity magazines. Over the past 10 years the assault style rifles have become far more popular among sport shooters for shooting competitions and hunting. For hunting the high capacity magazines are usually illegal so they utilize lower capacity magazines. For shooting competitions however the high capacity magazines are most often utilized. So when you hear people say, "there is no legitimate use for these assault weapons and high capacity magazines...they are only for killing people" you now know that is untrue.

Finally, "assault style" rifles are utilized by citizens for home defense. They make an excellent home defense choice because, when using the correct ammunition, they are often safer than a pistol or shotgun in regards to "over penetration". By that I mean, if the unthinkable happens and I am forced to defend my family from home invaders and I have to shoot someone, and if I use my assault style weapon with good self-defense ammunition, the likelihood of that bullet continuing to travel and penetrate through multiple walls and perhaps exit my house and penetrate into my neighbor's house is greatly minimized.

MUCH more could be said but I wanted to respond to your comments because you made a reasonable comment and one problem with this debate is that too many people really don't want to talk. They want to simply scream their opinions. Hopefully this helps clarify some things for someone. The bottom line is that this country was established on the basis of personal liberty and limited government. Liberty by its very nature is dangerous because it allows people to do bad things as well as good things. If we try to control the bad things by removing some aspect of personal liberty from everyone then we transfer more control to the government and eventually we will be no different than any other country in the world who has lost their freedoms and suffer under a tyrannical government. Like our founders said, our form of government (constitutional republic) is designed for a religious and moral people and is wholly unfit for any other. If we don't have the internal governance required to handle our liberty we will certainly lose it".

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THIS TOPIC

In the final paragraph above I touch on the 2nd amendment aspect of this issue.  In many ways I actually think this aspect is the most significant. It is very important that the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.  By so doing the founders were stating that this right, among others, was a fundamental right required to secure and maintain liberty.  Why?  Of course it doesn't really take much study to answer the "why" question.  If it were not for their possession of firearms in the new world they would not have been able to conduct a revolution and secure their own liberty from the England and establish the United States of America.  They understood this to be a key element in the realization of a free society and they understood this right had already been removed by the majority of "civilized" nations of Europe.  By removing firearms from the people, governments remove the power to overthrow the existing ruling elite who DO have firearms and thus concentrated, centralized power.  Such power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely...to employ an oft used axiom.  The founders knew this because they were thinking from a Christian, at least biblical, world view.  Mankind is fallen, sinful, and therefore very susceptible to corruption and that corruption will inevitably result in the oppression of the people.

So the 2nd amendment was seen to be absolutely critical to a free society.  Alexander Hamilton (Federalist Papers) argued against a formal Bill of Rights.  His reasoning is fascinating.  Hamilton's position was that the Constitution was inherently limiting to the Federal government.  Its purpose was to invest only certain powers and rights to the Federal government and invest ALL other powers, rights, and liberty to the states and people.  If a Bill of Rights was added to the constitution, a future generation seeking to gather more power to the federal government may use its existence to argue that, because there is a Bill of Rights delineating specific limitations around particular rights, the federal government must have SOME jurisdiction regarding those rights!  And Hamilton was right, that's exactly what has happened regarding freedom of religion and the right to keep and bear arms.  For both of these rights in particular (I think because these two rights pose the most threat to a corrupt central government) the government has intruded and limited the rights of Americans. In fact, the constitution specifically denies the federal government ALL jurisdiction in regard to these fundamental rights. 

In the name of "safety", "security", and "tolerance" the federal government of the United States has taken prayer from school and banned numerous classes of firearms.  The government dictates that nativity scenes cannot stand in specific places and that specific citizens cannot own firearms.  I could go on and on listing violation after violation of amendments one and two.  Our society is once again ripe for another large "power grab" by the federal government in the form of new and stronger gun control.  At some point this will be deemed intolerable by enough citizens that it will be resisted in a highly confrontational manner.  It already is being resisted by various individuals who become frustrated and allow that frustration to overflow in anti-social ways.  As a Christian one must think about these things and determine how to act if (and most likely when) the government of the United States effectively eliminates the Bill of Rights in this country and abolishes the fundamental freedoms that our founders died to establish and preserve.  The guiding principle for every Christian MUST be, what will bring honor to Christ?  What would Jesus have me do in this situation?  Ultimately, if our Christianity and our patriotism comes into conflict our Christianity must prevail.  How that will look under specific situations must be determined by the individual believer in communion with his/her community of faith.  It will not be easy and it may not always be passive.  But it will always be difficult and will always require sacrifice.

The God Delusion May Better be Titled, "Dawkin's Delusion"

This post was originally written as my comments on Richard Dawkin's book "The God Delusion" for a debate on Facebook with an atheist...

While it is still fresh in my mind I wanted to post my observations about Dawkins' main point he's trying to make in The God Delusion. This post is long already so I chose not to lengthen it with reference notations to chapter and page of the book. If anyone wants to challenge me on something I will certainly provide the appropriate book reference in the course of the discussion.


Dawkins makes two key, primary points in the book. First, biological life does not evolve by random, unguided chance. At first glance this sounds rather shocking until you realize that he means natural selection is the very competent “guide” that directs the evolutionary process eliminating the problem of “random chance”. Secondly, and related to his first point, he asserts that complexity is not irreducible and not truly as improbable as it first seems, that natural selection conquers “mount improbable” (the apparent near impossibility of the countless diversity of highly complex life forms that exist) one small step at a time. He uses the eye as an example of this point. Of course to think of the human eye coming into existence all at once is extraordinarily complex and improbable. Evolution could not be reasonably assumed to accomplish such a task…in one big jump that is. But evolution doesn’t work that way according to Dawkins. To Dawkins natural selection is an amazingly elegant “force” that guides the process in very small steps that obtain incrementally more complex organisms and organs until eventually, over ages of evolutionary time, the human eye comes into being. For instance, the eye of a flat worm can only see blurry undefined light and dark blotches. Obviously it is massively less complex than the human eye. But natural selection doesn’t move directly from the flat worm eye to the human eye but rather takes many, many intermediate steps. The next step might be the fruit fly eye, then the spider eye, reptilian eye, lower mammalian eye, higher mammalian eye, then finally the human eye. Getting from the flat worm eye to the fruit fly eye (or whatever eye that is very close to the flat worm eye) is a “rather easy jump”. So the complex human eye may look like “mount improbable” but really it is a gentle slope easily scaled one small step at a time.

Dawkins uses this concept of natural selection to rebut two major points that Christians and other creationists make. Clearly, according to Dawkins, the claim by creationists that evolution is a process of blind, random chance and therefore wholly inadequate to explain the complex world in which we live is wrong. It is wrong because creationists don’t understand that evolution is in fact guided by natural selection which is capable of “creating” highly complex life forms. The second major point Dawkins seeks to refute with natural selection is the objection that our complex world is comprised of countless highly complex “units” (like eyes and other biological organs) that could not possibly work unless they are fully intact. This is called irreducible complexity. The argument is that the human eye could not function as it does without all of its constituent components so a slow evolutionary process that incrementally constructs a human eye simply would not work. Failure is inevitable because anything less than the human eye would not survive in the natural selection process of “survival of the fittest”. Dawkins asserts that this objection is invalid because, as stated above, natural selection tackles the “mount improbable” of complex units one small, incremental, step at a time and those incremental steps (transitional forms) ARE SUCCESSFUL in their own ecosystems. He uses the flat worm as an example. The flat worm’s eye is FAR simpler than the human eye and provides vision WAY inferior to the human eye yet it works and the flat worm has survived.

To sum up Dawkins’ use of natural selection as his primary argument for the feasibility of evolution as the most plausible explanation for biological life we can say 1) It is the guiding force of evolutionary process making evolution FAR more probable as the mechanism responsible for life as we know it and 2) natural selection can produce the complexity that we see because it guides the evolutionary process from the simple to the complex in slow, “easy”, incremental steps. Nevertheless, I assert that Dawkins fails to make a compelling case against God for the following reasons…

First, Dawkins admits the biological life forms inhabiting our universe include extraordinarily complex forms that would be virtually impossible to explain by unguided, random chance. He then asserts that natural selection is the “force” or reality that makes the evolutionary process guided and non-random. He also freely admits that there is no such theory available for cosmology, but most certainly one will be found and so we should not lose hope, meaning something other than God will be found as an answer for the origin of the cosmos. Dawkins himself admits natural selection is only applicable for biology and not for physics. Therefore, even IF natural selection could be proved to be the evolutionary guide Dawkins claims, it cannot and does not explain the origin of the first life form. Without that, natural selection has no inherent power to cast doubt on the existence of God.

Secondly, Dawkins does not explain how biological forms could be acted upon by natural selection. Presumably natural selection is not in and of itself a force, entity, or any other reality with an independent existence otherwise it would simply be God by another name. Therefore biological life must contain some kind of ability or tendency that responds to conditions within their ecosystems resulting in the survival of the fittest by “keeping” useful features and functions and propagating them to the next generation AND it must enable them to not only pass those features and functions to the next generation but somehow cross species boundaries. This biological mechanism is not discussed by Dawkins and to the best of my knowledge has never been demonstrated conclusively but is thought to be the process of mutation. Molecular biologists are the experts who would demonstrate such a mechanism and so far they have not been able to prove that mutation is a sufficient mechanism to do the amazing work of natural selection. Therefore, natural selection is a concept endowed by its creator (Darwin) with amazing abilities, but the actual mechanism(s) to explain how it could actually accomplish its influence on biological forms has not been shown. Biological adaptation and mutation are certainly observable mechanisms but do not (as far as we can observe) approach the kind of capabilities required by natural selection to produce entirely new complex life forms from simple ancestral life forms through the theorized gradual, incremental steps. Dawkins concept of natural selection, like Darwin’s is uninformed by biological fact. It is a philosophical proposition utilized to explain what we see (amazing complexity) without reverting to God but it has NO molecular, biological underpinnings to show that it is or could be true.

Thirdly, although Dawkins dismisses irreducible complexity by asserting that natural selection can create complex life forms through simple incremental steps, irreducible complexity remains a serious problem for evolutionary theory. Darwin himself, as Dawkins admits, claimed that if a truly irreducibly complex unit were discovered it would devastate his theory. Dawkins goes through great pains to flesh out his “Mount Improbable” analogy to show how natural selection, rather than trying to scale to the massively improbable peak of Mount Improbable, goes around the backside of the mountain where a gentle slope exists and marches up the mountain in simple, gentle, incremental steps. As stated above he uses the flat worm eye as an example of an eye form far less functional than a human eye yet still works sufficiently to survive and propagated by natural selection. The critical hole in this argument is that the flat worm eye is a flat worm eye and STILL exists along with the completely separate human eye! Obviously natural selection didn’t enable the flat worm eye to develop on its way to a more complex human eye in a manner that the “fitter” human eye eventually formed and survived the “survival cut” of natural selection. Rather, there exists concurrently the flat worm eye and almost endless variations between the flat worm eye and the human eye. Clearly the flat worm eye “works” for the flat worm whereas the human eye works for the human and the various in between eyes work for those life forms. This means the eye for each biological form is tailored to that form and its unique ecosystem. So where is the impetus or “motivation” for natural selection to continue its “guidance” toward a better eye? Why would natural selection climb Mount Improbable if it “creates” a successful eye at “base camp”? Why does the flat worm eye still exist? Dawkins asserts that there are numerous transitional forms in the fossil record. But since the flat worm eye still exists, the simple fact that there are numerous biological forms with various functional eyes that have gone extinct provides no evidence that they are the product of “natural selection” and represent an incremental step up Mount Improbable. Rather, given the evidence of current life forms and the fossil record, why would it not be more plausible to conclude that each representative life form has the eye designed perfectly for that life form and ecosystem? My contention is the only reason one would not draw this conclusion (that of intelligent design/creation) is because one approaches the evidence from a presupposition of natural selection which in turn is based on pure philosophical materialism.

Dawkins approaches the evidence from a philosophical materialism but I certainly approach the evidence from a philosophical supernaturalism. I (and scientists who also share a philosophical supernaturalism) interpret the evidence in such a way that allows for God – or to be generic, an immaterial force or being above and/or beyond nature. Philosophical materialists interpret the evidence in such a way as to NOT allow for God. So who is right? If the evidence is not so overwhelmingly obvious one way or the other so as to close the debate (and that could certainly be successfully argued) how can one come to a settled intellectual conclusion? Certainly it begins with careful consideration of the evidence. But when the lay person examines the evidence we are dependent to some degree on the “experts”. We need to hear, analyze, and carefully consider what Dawkins, Harris, Hawking, Sagan, Hoyle, Einstein, Behe, Meyer, Craig, Zacharias and others say. In addition, we should do as much direct analysis of the evidence as we’re capable of doing. But when we depend on experts, to whatever degree that dependence, their credibility must be taken into consideration before knowing how much weight to place on their opinions. I contend that an “expert” who approaches the biological and cosmological evidence from a philosophical materialism presupposition has already closed his mind to any option outside of nature. In fact, that is the definition of philosophical materialism – there is no reality outside of the physical, material, natural world. Once the mind is closed to the supernatural option any evidence that points to the supernatural is dismissed. HOWEVER, an expert who approaches the evidence from the presupposition of philosophical supernaturalism is open to the evidence from both sides. Could the “supernaturalist” expert be biased, finding a supernatural explanation behind every rock? Sure, but this is the potential with any human scientist/expert - according to many and various biases. The human factor is a component of EVERY expert’s approach. But, a philosophical supernaturalist has a world view that ALLOWS him/her to evaluate evidence in such a way that is open to explanations unrestricted by the known, material, physical world. So, which expert has a more credible approach? Who can we trust, all else being equal, to fairly examine and evaluate all the evidence? I propose the expert who allows for the natural AND supernatural explanations. This is certainly NOT Dawkins.

For a much more thorough and scholarly treatment of the difficulties with Darwinian Evolution particularly around the doubt regarding the ability of natural selection to provide the required information to "climb Mount Improbable" see Stephen C. Meyer's book:  http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Doubt-Explosive-Origin-Intelligent/dp/0062071483/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441976312&sr=1-1&keywords=darwin%27s+doubt+stephen+meyer

Study Through Philippians - Week 2

THE KEY TO JOY, UNITY, CONTENTMENT, & SUFFERING WELL

The Study of Paul's Letter to the Philippians (week 2)Click here for audio

Paul's letter to the Philippians is certainly a practical letter written to a group of fellow believers that he deeply loved and was concerned about. In spite of its practical purpose and nature there are tremendous teachings in this letter that apply to all believers of all times. Among the great things we learn and to which we are exhorted in this letter are to be filled with joy, live in unity within the body of Christ, be content and satisfied, and to stand firm in the true faith in the face of persecution. In this letter Paul clearly explains the key to attaining these virtues of joy, unity, contentment and suffering well. Because it is more practical in nature than perhaps Romans for instance, we will have to look a little more carefully to understand what Paul wants us to see as the key to these virtues but the effort will be well worth it!

1. 1:12-30- For to me to live is Christ...! (week 3)
   1. Review from first week – Q&A
      1. What did you take away from Php 1:1-11?
      2. What did you take away from John Piper's sermon? What passage did he preach on and what passage did he refer to as the background understanding for the passage he preached on?
   2. The things which happened to Paul worked out for the furtherance of the Gospel.
      1. What things is Paul referring to? Vs 14 makes it clear he is referring to his chains – his imprisonment that we discussed the first week. At the point he wrote Philippians he had already been in custody for for at least 3 years perhaps for as long as 5.
      2. In what way had his imprisonment worked out for the furtherance of the Gospel?
         1. Vs 13 – the palace guard and “all the rest” knew he was in prison because of Christ.
            • Christ was being made known more widely
            • And Christ was being exalted as supremely valuable. Only because Paul so highly values Christ is he willing to be endure imprisonment for Him.
         2. Vs 14 references the encouragement of the brethren. Paul's suffering, more specifically his suffering well (because suffering “poorly” would have the opposite effect of encouragement), was building the confidence and boldness of the other Christians in Rome (presumably) so they were preaching the gospel more effectively.
            • But why would Paul's suffering imprisonment strengthen the others? Because anytime a believer endures sacrifice and suffering for Jesus he/she is proclaiming their absolute confidence in the reality of Jesus and the supreme value of Jesus. This inspires others. But more than that, our suffering and sacrifice provides opportunity for the amazing miracles of God to sustain us in Jesus providing signs of His reality and value to those who are watching.
         3. Also, Vs 15-17 reveal that some of those “watching” Paul's ordeal were not sincere. Some were of course and they were emboldened to proclaim the glories of Christ more effectively because of Paul's example. But others were not sincere and they were inspired to preach Christ thinking that doing so would cause more pain to Paul.
            • Because of envy and strife (attitudes toward Paul and perhaps Paul's followers) they thought they would preach while Paul was confined and get new believers who would be their followers and build a larger following than Paul...OR that preaching Christ more vigorously would cause the authorities to be more determined to keep Paul confined and perhaps execute him.
            • But others, who were emboldened to preach, did so out of love. I take this reference in vs 17 to mean that they realize Paul's role and they desire to be his sincere partner in the ministry as do the Philippians.
   3. Paul's underlying attitude and worldview comes out and reveals explicitly the secret to his joy, contentment, true unity, and suffering well (18-21).
      1. What is the result of these things (that some preach out of envy and strife while other preach out of love and sincerity) – that Christ is preached/exalted and this is Paul's greatest desire!
         1. His joy is not tied to his circumstances but tied to Christ so when Christ is exalted he gets joy!
         2. Paul expresses confidence that he will be delivered – one way or the other – by being released OR by death. Paul is most concerned that he be bold and suffer well not that he gets free. But he does seem to expect release...although his primary concern is that he exalt/magnify Christ through his physical existence – by living or dying.
         3. In vs 21 Paul explicitly articulates the very essence of his inner being, the very heart and soul of who he now is after Christ claimed his life - “to me to live is Christ and to die is gain”...because to die is more of Christ (vs 23)!
         4. This reveals the “secret” to the victorious living that Paul describes and exhorts for the Philippians – the kind of living that is joyful, contented, full of unity and harmony, and endures suffering with hope and victory.
            • The secret is that if Jesus Christ is our true treasure then whatever we need to do to get more of Him, closer to Him, to exalt Him, is so very worth it! If we are deprived of earthly comforts and pleasures but gain more of Jesus then what joy! If we don't get the things that other people have but we're able to be more focused on Christ what contentment! If we we are wronged by someone in the Church or we don't get what we want in budget planning session but through that we can draw closer to Christ by being wronged or letting someone else get what they want, what glorious unity! And if we can have a deeper and sweeter fellowship with Jesus when we suffer for Him oh what beneficial suffering it is!
            • When we understand this and surrender our lives to this the enemy can only serve to give us more of the Treasure we long for!
   4. As much as Paul longs for Christ he feels confident that he will be allowed to remain on earth a while longer for the benefit of the Philippians (22-26)
      1. The fruit of his labor in vs 22 is specifically the kind of fruit of his ministry that benefits the Philippians (24,25).
      2. What fruit of Paul's labor would result in the Philippians' “progress and joy of faith” (vs25)?
         1. Certainly I think just his physical presence which would be an encouragement to them (vs 26). It is so important, especially in the crucible of suffering and persecution to encourage one another through our coming together. Christ ministers to us physically in the presence of His people in the Body of Christ.
         2. Another aspect of Paul's labor we can be confident he is referring to that is needful for the Philippians is his teaching and pastoral ministry to protect the Philippians from false teachers (1:28 & 3:2).
         3. Finally, in addition to his physical presence which would be an encouragement in the face of suffering and persecution also his pastoral ministry of exhortation and rebuke to help the Philippians stay unified and stand fast in the faith. An especially important aspect of pastoral ministry is to exercise the discipline of God's work among the flock of God. Paul was doing just that by exhorting his congregation at Philippi to be unified with one mind and spirit throughout the letter. This letter is an example of this – mild rebuke, exhortation, encouragement, and guidance from the authority of God's word.
      3. As much as he wants to remain on earth to pastor the Philippians for the joy and progress of their faith he is truly torn (vs 23)– for him to be with Christ is far better!
         1. “Yet what I shall choose I cannot tell” (vs 22) - what does this mean - “what I shall choose”. It could be just another way of saying, “what will happen I cannot tell” but it could also reflect that, as a Roman citizen, Paul had some influence over the situation. After all, he had appealed to Rome in the first place and Agrippa had noted that Paul could have been set free had he not made the appeal (Ac 26:32). Of course Paul knows that God is in control and will determine the ultimate outcome, but perhaps Paul also knew that he was longing to be with Christ and was at the end of his ministry. Perhaps, he would not fight as hard as he could for release or exercise every option he had...he wanted to go home! But, he also felt a strong obligation to the Philippians to be an instrument for their progress in the faith.
      4. It is also important to note in this section how important joy is – (25-26).
         1. Paul said his remaining is needful for them. What is needful? Their progress in the faith (25b) – I take to mean growing and maturing in their faith and relationship with Christ – but also their JOY in the faith (25b).
            • This says that joy in the faith is needful. It is important and required for the Christian!
         2. He also says. “that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ...” For them to rejoice abundantly in Christ for Paul's ministry is important and needful. I take this to mean that a Christ centered, Christ exalting joy for Paul's ministry which is focused on preaching Christ so that Jesus is exalted, is absolutely a priority for the Philippians. It is critical that persecution, suffering, enemies NOT steal our joy.
         3. How critical joy is! Why would Paul put such importance on Joy for the Christian life?
            • Because if Christ is our Treasure then joy is the only fitting attitude for the Christian.
            • Joy in Christ while in the midst of suffering and persecution that takes or threatens to take everything we have in this life away, or in the midst of abundance that threatens to diminish Christ in this life, is the only fitting attitude because it shows and reveals that we truly do treasure Christ above all else.
   5. But suffering and persecution does threaten to steal our joy and contentment, destroy our unity, and shake our faith, all of which would not only hurt us but also reflect poorly on Christ as our Treasure (vs 27-31).
      1. So Paul exhorts them to have the kind of behavior that is worthy of the gospel of Christ – fitting for those claiming that Jesus Christ is their greatest Treasure.
      2. Specifically, Paul wants to hear that they are standing fast in their faith but in unity with each other – unified in spirit and in their thinking as they strive together for the faith. Striving for the faith in this context most likely means against their adversaries (vs 28) that are probably a combination of those who are causing them to suffer for believing in Christ AND those who are trying to distort the gospel of Christ (3:2).
      3. The main point Paul is making is that they are to remain unified not letting the persecution tear them apart by causing them to turn on one another or abandon one another out of fear.
      4. Note that Paul says that by not being terrified by their adversaries it serves to prove to the adversaries they are headed to perdition but the Philippians are destined for salvation.
         1. How is fearlessness proof of their perdition (damnation) and the Christians' salvation?
            • It demonstrates to them (your adversaries) that Christ to you is more valuable than your earlthy goods or physical safety. That gives credibility to your message (the gospel) and creates a compelling argument for the reality of what you are proclaiming and therefore that they are wrong! So they find themselves wondering, questioning, “why are they fearless in the face of our threats? Could it be they have the truth”?
            • And for the Christian the converse is true – the fearlessness demonstrates the reality of Christ in them, the hope of glory (Col 1:27)! Anytime we face suffering and stand firm, stay unified in the face of persecution, or overcome temptation it is evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in you because our salvation is all of God not of us.
      5. BECAUSE (For) it has been granted...(vs 29). The reason that fearlessness in the face of suffering is a sign of our salvation, is because suffering is part of what has been given to us.
         1. SO Paul is saying here that because of/based on Christ's work (on behalf of Christ) it has been gifted to us to believe in Him. This supports what Paul says in vs 28 that salvation is from God. SO by His grace we are given faith to believe in Christ which of course is a critical component of salvation (Eph 2:8-9).
         2. But not only is faith a gift. The shocking (to us at least) part of what Paul says is that suffering for Christ is also a gift! What a perspective! Our salvation is NOT a gift from God to take us into heaven trouble free. In fact, the opposite is true. (Mat 5:10-16)
            • Our salvation is accompanied by trouble, suffering, persecution. This allows us to demonstrate the Treasure that Christ has become to us because of salvation. It allows us to be salt and light.
            • All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted (2Ti 3:12) – as we encounter resistance, persecution and suffering for the Name it serves to demonstrate the authenticity of our faith which encourages us and strengthens us to endure to the end (Mat 5:12)
            • It also develops our character as we suffer. We learn to trust in Christ and His provision, it tears us away from the alluring lies of the world, it helps us to learn courage and gives us the opportunity to love our enemies.
      6. But it is good to know we are not going it alone – vs 30. Paul reminds them that they are experiencing the same conflict that he too is experiencing. How important the body of Christ is to encourage us as we suffer together!

Study Through Philippians - Week 1

THE KEY TO JOY, UNITY, CONTENTMENT, & SUFFERING WELL

The Study of Paul's Letter to the PhilippiansClick here for audio

Paul's letter to the Philippians is certainly a practical letter written to a group of fellow believers that he deeply loved and was concerned about. In spite of its practical purpose and nature there are tremendous teachings in this letter that apply to all believers of all times. Among the great things we learn and to which we are exhorted in this letter are to be filled with joy, live in unity within the body of Christ, be content and satisfied, and to stand firm in the true faith in the face of persecution. In this letter Paul clearly explains the key to attaining these virtues of joy, unity, contentment and suffering well. Because it is more practical in nature than perhaps Romans for instance, we will have to look a little more carefully to understand what Paul wants us to see as the key to these virtues but the effort will be well worth it!

1. 1:1-11- Background and Introduction (week 1)
   1. Paul and Timothy...bondservants (slaves) of Jesus Christ
      1. Identifies himself along with Timothy his companion and son in the faith (Ac 16:1)
      2. Bondservants/slaves of Christ. Paul's self-identification is as a slave to Christ – a willing, adoring slave but nevertheless compelled to follow and serve. But the compulsion is one of love – compelled by the love of Christ and compelled by love for Christ (1Cor 16:22, 2Cor 5:14)
      3. In Paul's mind the highest honor is not that he is an Apostle, leader, prophet etc – but a slave!
   2. To the saints in Philippi – the holy ones, set apart ones, - in Christ Jesus. It is in Christ alone that we are holy, set apart by God unto God as His special people for His special purpose.
      1. Also to the church leaders – Bishops or overseers (pastors/elders) and deacons.
      2. Philippi was a Roman colony so enjoyed special status and privileges and its citizens were proud of this fact.
      3. We learn about the founding of the church in Philippi by Paul in Acts 16:14-40. Paul probably made his first visit in AD 49-50 and wrote this letter to them in AD 61-62 shortly before his martyrdom.
   3. He prays for them with all joy because of his love for them and their fellowship in the gospel ministry from the beginning until now so their relationship has stayed strong through the years and, as we shall see, through much hardship and persecution
   4. Paul's confidence and hope (which fuels our prayer life) is based on God's sovereign work in the lives of the Philippian Christians and in all Christians (vs 6).
      1. This is one of the key teachings that we find along the way in this letter. It is not one of the primary purposes of the letter to teach the truth of God's sovereign work of grace in saving AND sustaining Christians but Paul uses this truth to encourage them.
      2. God save us by His sovereign grace. We don't work for it, earn it, deserve it, get better positioned for it. God begins the work AND finishes the work strictly by His unmerited grace so there can be NO boasting on our part (Rom 3:27).
      3. God will finish His work in us causing us to endure, persevere to the end – until Jesus takes us to Himself.
   5. Paul overflows with love and affection for the Philippians and reveals that he is in chains (vs 7). Most likely he is in Rome in prison as the book of Acts leaves off, teaching and preaching from house arrest as it were.
      1. The defense and confirmation of the gospel refers to his arrest instigated by the Jews over the fact that he was standing firm that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone...and equally available to Gentile and Jew alike (Ac 21-28).
      2. The Philippians have been a faithful partner with Paul in his mission and their mission – to live for Christ and spread the word about Him. He will elaborate more on this throughout the letter.
   6. One of his main prayer focus areas for the Philippians is that their love will abound with knowledge and discernment (vs 9). This is hugely instructive!
      1. So many Christians get sucked into dangerous movements and bad teachings because they mistakenly embrace the doctrines of love and grace without embracing with equal fervor the doctrines of truth and justice. Paul prays (and therefore exhorts) that the Philippians have their love fully undergirded by knowledge and discernment.
      2. Only by a strong commitment to reading and studying the word of God can we ensure that we know Christ who reveals that God is love (1Jn 4:8) AND claims for Himself that He is the Way and the Truth (Jn 14:6).
      3. The flow of our culture is that everyone's opinion is equally valid, truth is relative, the “politics” of a situation or topic is more important than the truth of it...but God's word clearly teaches that truth is non-negotiable and that as Christians we must be equally committed to truth AND love, grace AND justice. Only by God's word and His Holy Spirit can we achieve this.
   7. This is the ONLY way we will be able to approve, confirm, acknowledge and embrace the true and excellent things of God so that we will remain sincere and without offense until Christ returns to claim us.
      1. This is also the key to producing the fruit of righteousness. If he have truth without love we fail (1Cor 13), but if we have love without truth and discernment we fail to. We can be led into sin which compromises both love and truth.
      2. The fruit of righteousness can only come through/by Christ. In other words, it is because we are saints (set apart) in Him that we can do anything that pleases God. Christ covers us with His righteousness so we are righteous in God's sight but also God then works to produce His righteousness in us so we glorify Him.
      3. This is Paul's prayer for the Philippians whom he loved deeply. Let this be instructive to us as well. I think we spend too much time praying for physical healing, jobs, and various other types of earthly comforts on behalf of our loved ones. Rather let us spend more time praying that our loved ones will know Christ and grow in love for Christ and others and will produce the fruit of righteousness for the glory of God.

Philippians Bible Study Outline

THE KEY TO JOY, UNITY, CONTENTMENT, & SUFFERING WELL

The Study of Paul's Letter to the Philippians

Paul's letter to the Philippians is certainly a practical letter written to a group of fellow believers that he deeply loved and was concerned about. In spite of its practical purpose and nature there are tremendous teachings in this letter that apply to all believers of all times. Among the great things we learn and to which we are exhorted in this letter are to be filled with joy, live in unity within the body of Christ, be content and satisfied, and to stand firm in the true faith in the face of persecution. In this letter Paul clearly explains the key to attaining these virtues of joy, unity, contentment and suffering well. Because it is more practical in nature than perhaps Romans for instance, we will have to look a little more carefully to understand what Paul wants us to see as the key to these virtues but the effort will be well worth it!

1. 1:1-11- Background and Introduction (week 1)
2. John Piper Sermon on Php 3 – Video (week 2 – Bruce out of town)
3. 1:12-30- For to me to live is Christ...! (week 3)

4. 2:1-18- Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (weeks 4 & 5)
5. 2:19-30- ...and hold such men in esteem (week 6)
6. 3:1-21- I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus...(weeks 7 & 8)
7. 4:1-8- Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say rejoice! (week 9)
8. 4:9-23- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (week 10)