SLIDES

The Results of a Life without Complaining and Arguing (Philippians 2:14-16)

Bob Josey

 Introduction

There are times when most of us has had the responsibility of organizing an event or keeping something that is already organized continuing in a smooth manner. This may be some event or something important at work or, at school as a teacher or administrator, or on a social level.  You may have led a group or committee on a professional or maybe a nonprofessional level. It may have been something like a professional review, a SACS evaluation, an audit or maybe even something like a Christmas party.

Occasionally In these committees it is not uncommon to find one or more people who are not be on the same page with the leader or most in the committee.  These are people who love to murmur and complain. This kind of thing is very common but wrong on any level.

It is one thing, even though its wrong, to do this kind of complaining or arguing at school or a work. It quite another, however, to have this kind of thing happen in a church of God on any level when there are born again believers in Jesus Christ involved. Some believes do not take murmuring and complaining as seriously as they should as we shall see from examples in the Old Testament and warnings in the New Testament. Before we read about examples of complaining in the Old Testament, let me ask a few questions.

    •  Why do you complain and argue?

•      Have you ever noticed what happens when you argue and complain to others? (They tend to get a bad attitude and start complaining and arguing as well. It’s catching as we will see from Scripture in a minute.)

•      When do you complain the most?

Before we discuss today’s Scripture from Philippians, let’s first look a few Old Testament examples of murmuring and complaining. The first example comes from the murmuring and complaining of Israel in Numbers 11:1-6.

1 Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.  2 The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out. 3  So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.  4 The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?  5 “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, 6 but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”

• What were the people complaining about?

• Were there any consequences for complaining?

Now let’s discuss an event concerning Murmuring that occurred in the next chapter, Numbers 12.

Numbers 12

1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman);

2 and they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the Lord heard it.

3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out.

5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward,

6 He said,

“Hear now My words:

If there is a prophet among you,

I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.

I shall speak with him in a dream.

7 “Not so, with My servant Moses,

He is faithful in all My household;

8 With him I speak mouth to mouth,

Even openly, and not in dark sayings,

And he beholds the form of the Lord.

Why then were you not afraid

To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

9 So the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed.

10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous.

11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.

12 “Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!”

13 Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!”

14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”

15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

This event shows how seriously God takes murmuring and complaining against God’s leaders and His‘ people. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:6 the importance of reading and studying these stories from the Old Testament.

Now these things happened as examples for us...

During our last lesson, Paul exhorted the believers at the church of Philippi to change their attitude and practices that were causing disunity among believers. In the verses we will study today, Paul names and discusses two of those practices that were causing division at the church at Philippi which were complaining and arguing. Complaining and arguing were two practices that were at the top the list for causing disunity. Let’s us now discuss from Philippians 2:14-16 and see what Paul has to say about complaining and arguing.

A. Believers are exhorted to Live a Life Free of Complaining and Arguing (14)

14   Do all things without grumbling or disputing.

A couple of week ago I said there are difficult passages to interpret but easy to obey. Then there are passages easy to interpret but difficult to obey. This verse fits the latter category - easy to interpret but difficult to obey. Grumbling and disputing are certainly not from the Holy Spirit but from the flesh. Believers are exhorted to live a life that is free from grumbling and disputing. This is not a request! It is a command. Let’s now take a few minutes and look a little deeper into the Greek words that are translated grumbling and disputing.

The Greek word translated grumbling can be translated complaining. It means an utterance made in a low tone of voice that displays discontent. The Greek word translated disputing basically means to argue over conflicting ideas. The description of these words really shows how ungodly grumbling or complaining are.  Here are a few observations from others about grumbling or arguing.

• People, even Christians tend to complain and argue when they are discontent. Someone has said “Half the world is unhappy because it can’t have the things that are making the other half unhappy.”

• I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who
  had no feet. — Arab proverb• 

• There’s no sense in advertising your troubles—there’s no market for them.

• Whenever you are tempted to tell your troubles to other people, remember that half your listeners aren’t interested, and the rest are glad you’re finally getting what’s coming to you.

B. The Purpose for believers living a life free of complaining and arguing is so that they will become blameless and innocent children of God who appear as light among wicked people. (15-16a)

15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, ...

Paul tells us that living a life free from complaining and arguing certainly has an important purpose. It has everything to do with being an objective witness. Last week I quoted Jim Jackson saying, “Like it or not, your life is a model for others. When you least suspect it, others are watching.” Yes indeed! Believers and unbelievers are watching us.

The word prove is better translated become. If we as believers in Jesus refrain from complaining and auguring, we will become blameless and innocent to others. Blameless has to do with people not being able to find fault for any reason to blame someone for something. Being innocent means, one is pure, not mixed. It’s used in Greek writings sometimes to mean pure wine that is not mixed with water. Therefore, whoever is innocent is not tainted with wrongdoing.

We live for the most part in a godless world surrounded mostly by unbelievers. The temptation sometimes is we want to be like them.  John 2:15 says. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world.” This verse is misunderstood sometimes because the wrong definition of world is used. Can’t we love and enjoy beautiful things in the world without them becoming an idol. Yes, we can. The best definition of the word world in this context comes from the Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition, page 1993.

“the world (Gk., cosmos) is that organized system headed by Satan that leaves God out and is a rival to Him. Though God loves the world of men (John 3:16), believers are not to love at all that which organizes them against God...”

Being blameless and innocent demonstrates that we are Children of God who are above reproach. People can throw things at us but it will not stick. Also we should be light in a dark world of sin and depravity. Speaking to Israel, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Israel chose not to be light to others, so God raised up the church to do what Israel did not want to do. Do you think the church is fulfilling that? Are you personally fulfilling that?

One way to demonstrate that we are light to others is by holding fast the word of life. I certainly did a lot of ruminating on the first part of verse 16 concerning holding fast the word of life. There are so many directions one could go in interpreting what that means. As I pondered the meaning, I decided to look deeper into the participle holding fast. I found the word can also mean “to be mindful or especially observant, hold toward, aim at, or offer, to direct towards, to hold out.’ Now we are getting somewhere. That helped clarify things for me. So, what then is the word of life? Someone had defined it like this. “It stands broadly for the total message of the Scriptures, and specifically for ‘the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation’. This life must have its way, shining out into a crooked and perverse generation, exposing and condemning, illuminating and transforming.” Believers are also to hold out the word of life, the gospel (John 6:68), like the Statue of Liberty holds out her torch. This is another way in which we are lights in a dark world.

C. The purpose of sharing Scriptures with others, particularly the gospel, is so that believers can rejoice at the Judgement Seat of Christ because the life that God called them to was fulfilled. (16b)

16b ...so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

As Jesus was the supreme and shining example of dedication to His mission of being a humble Sacrifice to mankind, Paul is the supreme example of a believer in Jesus. He will be able to glory i.e., boast or rejoice at the Judgement Seat of Christ because he had fulfilled the mission God called him to do. He did not minister in vain for the Philippians. His life demonstrated that he fulfilled the purpose in which God had called him i.e., to take the Gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Are you fulfilling the mission to which God has called you? Will you be stand before Jesus at His’ Judgement and rejoice with Paul that your ministry was not in vain.

The Judgement Seat of Christ will occur sometime after the Rapture. Paul informs us in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “... we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” The Judgement Seat will be a time when a believer’s earthly works will judged by Jesus. Motive for these works is also a part of His’ evaluation. To help us understand the process, Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 gives us something to mentally visualize.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15  - According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Several years ago, a lady gave one million dollars to the building fund at Johnson Ferry. I did not know her. If she gave the money to glorify the Lord, she will receive great rewards. However, if she gave the money so she could be recognized and praised, she will receive no rewards.

Application

The lesson today in context concerns complaining and arguing that caused disunity in the Body of Christ in Philippi. The first application for us in the 21st century is not to complain and argue because it causes disunity in the Body of Christ. 

The complaining and arguing Paul is referring to is about petty, usually insignificant things, and persona preferences such as the color of the carpet, the order of the service in a worship service or class. When it comes to more significant things that really are important and things that really impact a church or a Bible study class, such as doctrine, the actions of the leadership, literature that may be used in classes, who can be ordained for ministry service and the qualifications for those who are ordained, church discipline, etc. Complaining and arguing are still not acceptable.  If you have a real concern about something significant, instead of complaining and auguring, go to the leadership and discuss it with them.  If you think you have an important problem or disagreement with an individual, follow the directions in Matthew 18:15-17 instead of complaining and arguing.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Paul’s exhortation not to complain and argue can also be applied to all aspects of life, not just the Body of Christ. No one like those who tend to complain and argue and some do this all the time. 

Nancy Singer and her sister, who did not want to be identified, say they have been loyal customers of Filene’s Basement for years but recently received a letter from the chain of stores asking them not to return. They acknowledge they have returned many items and occasionally complained about the service and that they’ve had a few run-ins with store managers, but neither sister felt their actions were excessive. Singer says, “The sales staff is always telling you to go ahead and buy it, and return it if it doesn’t fit or look right.” David Sherer, Vice President of loss prevention at the Ohio based discount chain wrote a letter to the sisters in May. He said, “Given your history of excessive returns and your chronic unhappiness with our services, we have decided that this is the best way to avoid any future problems with you and your sister.” James McGrady, chief financial officer for the chain admits customer bans are “extremely rare.” He noted that the sisters had returned an “incredible” number of items and said sales associates were spending too much time handling the sister’s returns and complaints. McGrady added, “There comes a point in time when you say enough is enough on both sides.”—Associated Press, July 14, 2003, Store Bans sisters for too many returned items, Submitted by Jim Sandell

Is your life characterized by arguing and complaining? If it is, you are not being an example to brothers and sisters in Christ and are certainly not being a light to those who live in darkness without Jesus.  There also may be consequences. There are things we consider just part of life such a broken tooth, sickness, a fender bender, financial problems, etc. that may be discipline from he Lord for complaining and arguing.  So, what do you need to do to stop complaining and arguing? Focus on things to be thankful for, look at what’s good instead of what’s bad, pray, etc. But the main thing is to stop arguing and complaining. As James McGrady said “Enough is enough!”

SELAH!