2:15
2:14 gives the instruction, we now get the motivation. It is so that we will “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky”. Not grumbling goes directly against the spirit of the age. The goal is that we live like children of God, and that we stand out in our generation. We are to stand out as different, shining for Jesus. We should be clear that this is not “nice”, it may well lead to persecution!
2:16
They were to do this holding “firmly to the word of life”. The Christ centeredness and word focused nature of all this is vital. So often we see churches or Christian organisations that start out on some venture or mission from a Christ perspective, but as time goes on the task becomes more important than Christ. They then start compromising with the world.
Paul then draws attention to himself again, pointing out that if the Philippians did these things then Paul would know that his work had not been in vain. Our task is to bring people to Christ, and then to ensure that they remain in Christ.
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