Chapter two, we'll get started with that reading from Philippians 2. Philippians 2, 12 through 18. Here again, God's word. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may 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, holding fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all and urge you to and you to I urge you Rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. May God be pleased to bless his word to our hearts. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that you'd work in us. We petition you for that work of the spirit. That. Changes our hearts. gives us new hearts, alters that core disposition, inclines us to your truth. And we do pray, Father, that you would incline our hearts to your word and to yourself. How important that is, O our God. And as we. Take time again to look at your word. To discuss the cultural scene in which we find ourselves a little bit. And attempt by your grace to. Apply your word. In our current situation, father, give us wisdom. Give us understanding. Through your word, by the power of your spirit, repress sin. Which is within us. We pray. Hear us in Jesus name, Amen. Our third lesson, Paul's view of the believer, we've looked a little bit at the. View of Paul regarding the world, the view of Paul regarding the unbeliever and now Paul's view of the believer. And with that as a background, we'll go into an exposition. I hope that's what it will be, at least an exposition of the conversion of Paul. And I think all of this has to come as some background. And again, in the mixed, we're looking at this subject of postmodernism. A couple of you have said that you've read other books about postmodernism, and that's good. And maybe here in another lesson we can compare some notes on suggested books that we can read. Let's go ahead with our outline. Number one, postmodernism segments society into groups. America is not a melting pot. America is a fruit salad, a tossed salad. The modern civil rights movement Martin Luther King stressed unity. All Americans should have the same right to vote, the same economic opportunities, the same educational opportunities, and then the contrast in point two. The point I'm trying to make here is that many of us, when we were in school and had American government and Western civilization, we talked about the fact that America is a wonderful place because it's a melting pot. And everyone comes and they join in this culture, which in the providence of God was brought forth on this continent. And they learned English and they learned the habits of the country. And one of the great virtues of America was the fact that it was a melting pot. That's no longer the case. And that's no longer the view of America, which is being taught in our schools. It is a tossed salad. Fruit basket upset. The different cultures are being emphasized in our society. It's not unity anymore, but diversity that's being emphasized. And one of the ways that we see this, I think, is in the civil rights movement. As I say, the modern civil rights movement stressed unity. And I think this was the thrust of Martin Luther King, Jr., that he really wanted for blacks to enjoy the same kind of opportunities that other Americans enjoy. That was the whole thrust of the movement. And this was the case in the 60s when this movement came on the scene. Things changed then. Number two, the post-modern civil rights movement, Malcolm X, stresses disunity. Black nationalism came into vogue, centered in race, and African heritage. And we know this is the case. This is the American scene today. We now emphasize we are African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, Mexican-Americans, not simply Americans. I was really amazed at a black columnist on C-SPAN who received a call, and I watch C-SPAN often in the morning on their Washington Journal, And this particular morning, a caller came in and kind of uprated this black columnist for emphasizing the black heritage. And the caller said, you're an American first. And she said, absolutely not. I'm not an American first. I'm an African first. I'm a black first. And you need to understand that's the case. Don't tell me how I'm going to define myself. Very adamant about it, and that's where our society and our culture is today. The differences are being accentuated, and very often this accentuates the enmity and the hostility in our society and in our culture. The poor white male today, you know, I'll stand up and say that is really in the minority. I mean, that really is the case in many ways. And it's too bad that that's the case because there's overemphasis in other areas. And I think people like myself need to be careful not to react in a wrong fashion. And pastors and elders in the church need to be careful not to react in a wrong fashion. Multiculturalism is in. Western civilization is out. In most colleges today, courses in Western civilization are played down. And in many colleges and universities today, there are no courses in Western civilization. This is dramatic. And those who are going into college and coming out of college are learning entirely different subjects and getting an entirely different slant on the world than many of us who were in college in the 60s did or in the 50s did. This is just the case. And we need to realize that this is the case. And I think we need to understand that this is the case with our young people today. Western civilization grew out of a unified worldview. The university prospered. And what was the university? The university was a school in which there were many colleges. Right. And they were held together by a unified worldview. God created the world. Everything centered around him and his word and the university won System of understanding the world and the cultures in the world predominated Now we have the multiversity Different colleges teaching different things give you just a little example of how this works a Fellow who worked at Sterling College moved to a John Brown University in Arkansas, where our youngest daughter just graduated. And another officer at Sterling College called him and asked this question of this fellow that moved to John Brown University. And the question was this, how is it that your retention is so high at John Brown University? The retention is high and there's a waiting list for kids to get in there. How is this the case? Pause. Answer. When the students go from class to class and department to department, they know what to expect. There's a unity on the campus. And they're comfortable. They understand that. In most colleges and universities today, when students go from department to department, they don't know what to expect. They get one worldview from one professor. They get an entirely different worldview from another professor, and this is occurring on Christian college campuses. They get evolution in the science department, and they get a different view in religion and philosophy, and they get a different view in another department. And it's very interesting that most college campuses today, even Christian college campuses, have religion and philosophy departments and not Bible departments. Subtle shift in understanding. And that's prevalent. I don't know what's happening in Geneva in this score. I really don't. Keith? What's brought about, what's the root cause? I think there are many causes, I really do. I think in part it depends on your view of when post-modernism really began. The scheme I put on the blackboard earlier indicated 1950 was the shift. Personally, I prefer the 60s as the shift when there was rebellion against authority, a desire to see more diversity, and it wasn't just the Vietnam War that was the catalyst. This was occurring throughout Europe. The same sort of thing was occurring throughout Europe. Just children coming up and rebelling against what they perceived as a closed system after World War II and desiring, I suppose, a little more freedom and rebelling against constraints. And at the same time, in the colleges and universities, these new strains of thoughts being taught. I guess I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe you want to interact with that a little bit. Abandoning any sense of absolute. I think that's part of the package. I think that's part of the package. Right. There's no truth. And that's right. is that there is no truth. Correct. Correct. The only absolute left is that there are no absolutes. Absolutely. OK. I agree. I agree. The root shift in Western thinking that has brought about all the rest of this may be not recognized along the way. I think that's part of it. But I think that the whole idea of Emphasizing the different cultures is also a part of it, because in the emphasizing of the different cultures, culture T1 has its truth, culture T2 has its truth, culture T3 has its truth, and we have the feminist spin on things, we have the homosexual spin on things. used to be in Western civilization, the Bible. Right. Right. Revelation of the true God really is correct. All these all these arguments about what was true. And we debated about it for sure as to what was and what wasn't. But we were debating about what the Bible revealed about God. That's there's nothing above. That is correct. That is correct. That's what brings about all this diversity and lack of foundation. Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. I would say it's a both-and kind of situation. It's an abandonment of absolutes, but the abandonment of absolutes is aggravated by the multicultural kind of thinking and these other ideas. So, to me, they all go together, okay? What was your thing? You just summed up everybody wants to do what's right in their own eyes. Everyone does want to do every every subculture wants to do what's right in its own eyes. And every subculture is vying. And this is interesting. What's happened is the Bible has been abandoned as the arbiter. There still is an arbiter in our society. And what is the arbiter today in our society? Power that is exercised through government, government, Governments, the arbiter today and the subcultures are vying for power in the eyes of the government and they're vying for dollars and this sort of thing. That is correct. That is correct. Each of these are self-serving. There's no question about it. And this is why you have an accentuation of the hostility in our society, and our society is becoming more violent. kids are not going into science, I think. It is. It was. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's, yeah, it is frightening. It is frightening. And what's frightening about it is that scientists thinking that you can play fast and loose with absolutes and how does that work out when you're sending rockets to Mars? You know, it doesn't work out. Okay, let's move on. Number four, I think we're getting the idea here. You know, I'm serious and I think this is good. Number four, Christianity is a subculture in the postmodern world. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 320. We are Christians first. Is that not the case? Citizens of heaven first. Do you consider yourself an American first or a Christian first? Seriously. A Christian American or an American Christian. Hang on just a second. We are Christians first, citizens of heaven first. The church is an outpost of heaven. We are ambassadors for Christ. Now, I think what we're saying here is that Christianity fits in to this scheme. We are a Christian. subculture. And there is a distinction between us and these other subcultures, and as our brother here already said, that distinction needs to be maintained. That distinction ought not to be watered down. And part of the problem in our culture and our society today is that the Christian church wants to break down these barriers and become more like the surrounding cultures in order to attract people, so-called, rather than being a distinct people. And I think, I think This understanding is to our advantage, in other words, that we are a distinct subculture and that we have an opportunity to maintain that. And I think, dear Reformed Presbyterians, that the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America is a church, as I would describe it, that is probably more distinct from the cultures around us than any other church on the American scene. And that that's right, it ought to be. It ought to be. I think we ought to play to our strength. Not try and water it down. I'm the new guy on the block here, so I guess I can say that, but but, you know, I really believe this is the case, folks. Because look, and I'll get to your hands in just a minute. Look, if this is supposed to be an outpost of heaven, OK, this Christian church and I told our congregation this in Sterling, what I want to say, what my heart's desire to say is this, that when people come into the pale of the church, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Sterling, Kansas, they get a taste of heaven. Thank you. Isn't that what it should be about? I think it should be. And to do things so that we appear to be like the cultures that are around us is jeopardizing and undermining our witness. And so I say that we need to rise to the occasion in this multicultural atmosphere in which we find ourselves. I know not everybody agrees with me on that, but I really think this is the case. Okay. We have to understand the mediatorial picture of Christ. There is a circle that goes all around that, that we are part of. And we're not just amazed at the end of the Quake or the video game. You just happen to find out and hit the right combination to get into this heaven thing. It's all around us. We have the unifying structure in this fragment that this makes it all make sense. Yeah, and I agree entirely because because what's happening in each of these other little subcultures is more fragmentation and the fragmentation of individual lives that's leading to total despair in those individual lives and and There's a sense of senselessness and there's a longing. I really think this is a case. There is a longing in the hearts of men and women to make sense out of it all. And part of the reason that that's the case is that there is this overarching scheme. God is present. The grace of God is at work in the world. And God is at work broadly. In the world. And I still believe I hope that you do, too, I still believe in the concept of common grace. And I dare say that part of the part of our prayers ought to be that God not withdraw. His grace, because the more that that occurs, the greater chaos we're going to see in the world, and so so I would agree with you entirely. Let's look at Philippians, chapter two, now a little bit more specifically in this context in which we've been talking. Twelve and thirteen in Philippians, chapter two, so then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Now, what I'm interested in here is the fact that we can be a distinctive subculture. And I would totally agree. We have to be salt and light in the world. And it's amazing to me that it takes very little salt to season a meal, isn't that correct? Think about that a little bit. We are to be salt in the world. And I thank God, for example, for those who are in the public education system, and they may be few, but they are salt. I thank God for those who are in other institutions, who are real salt in those institutions, because their very presence makes a difference in those institutions, no matter what that institution happens to be. And I think that I really do think that's important. But in order to be salt and light, we have to be a people who are, as the King James Version puts it, a peculiar people. Correct. I mean, we really do. We have to be a people who are different than the rest of the world. And the question is, Can that be? I think many Christians are saying, well, maybe. That's not the response of the apostle Paul. So then, my beloved. As you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now, what is Paul getting at here? Drop down, if you would, to number six in the outline, the basic exhortation of verse 12 is simple. Work out your salvation. You are saved from the rule and the reign of sin. You are born again. Work out the implications of this salvation in every area of your life. If you are a Christian, the rule and the reign of sin over your life is broken. I don't hear any amens. Do you believe that that's the case? John Murray would say, paraphrasing, sin remains, it does not reign. Sin may remain, but it does not rule and reign. It does not have the dominion over you. I think that's a critical message. And if sin does not reign, Change, dramatic change is possible. And I think the message of the Apostle Paul is just that. Work out your salvation. And the word, the Greek word that Paul uses here indicates a working out of the implications of that which is already present in your life. A working out of the principle of life that is in you. of working out of the implications of that principle of new life, which is in you. Let's look at it from the negative perspective. The same principle. Turn with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 7 and verse 13. And we're going to talk more about this later. But we'll get a taste of it here. Therefore, did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be. Rather, it was sin in order that it might be shown to be sin by affecting, by working out my death through that which is good, that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful in order that it, that is the principle of sin, might be shown to be sin by working out my death. You see, what does sin do in the life of the unbeliever? It works out death. It leads to death. And the individual who is an unbeliever and has an inclination of heart towards evil practices evil. It leads to further lawlessness. And the end of that path is death. It's as simple as that. And so the sinner works out in his or her life the principle of evil. And it leads to death. What's the opposite? The rule and reign of Christ is broken. You are born again, a new principle of life is in you. Work out the implications of that new life that is in you. Work out your salvation. This is what Paul is saying. Work out the implications of your salvation. Deep abiding change, the forming of new habits. is not only possible, it's a must for all of us. And when I say that, I have to point the finger at myself. Please go back, if you would, to Philippians chapter 2. Chapter two, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you. You can work out the implications of your salvation. God energizes you. Is this not the case? The Greek word here is the word that stands behind our English word energize. The energizer bunny. You have this picture of this track team in your head, right? From the TV commercial. And the Energizer bunny. You are energized, not by a little battery. This fellow that gave me the mic here said he was going to change my battery as well. I don't think so. The battery on the microphone, maybe. At any rate, God energizes you. What is your hope of glory? Paul says, Christ in you, your hope of glory. The love of God poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit who has been given to you. Peter says you are a participant in the divine nature. How can that be? It can be by the Holy Spirit pouring out the love of God in your heart, by Christ dwelling in you, by God himself indwelling you. You know, if this doesn't make a dramatic difference in an individual's life, nothing can. This is what's so amazing about Christianity. Work out your salvation, for it is God who is at work in you. Who is this God? This is the God who created the universe, who put the stars in the heavens, the supernovas out there. I remember Daryl Parnell from Topeka, who teaches astronomy, giving a lecture in our congregation, and he put a slide up on the wall and he says, you see all of those little saucer shaped objects in that picture? Those are galaxies. And there were hundreds of them in that picture. You know what the diameter of one of those galaxies is? A hundred million light years. And there were hundreds of them in that picture. God created all of that. He put all of that into place, that creator, and he made you. And the Christian is able to respond to the exhortation of the Apostle Paul. Work out your salvation because it is God who is at work in you. What are we to say? Whoa. Look at our text again, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Number eight in the outline, God's good pleasure. We must follow God's moral law summarized in the Ten Commandments. See, there's no antinomianism here. What is God's good pleasure? Summarized in the Ten Commandments. See? That's it. And when we look at those commandments and Paul says we can add them up and what do we get? What do we get when we add up the commandments? When we sum up the commandments? Anyone? Love, love. That's right. Love. That's what you get. There's no legalism here either, is there? Not really. No antinomianism, no legalism. It's the love of God poured out in our hearts that gives us a desire to follow those commandments and keep those commandments. You shall not commit adultery. What do we say in our culture today with reference to that commandment? Say again. Yeah, that's that's what it is in our culture, isn't it? Is that a standard? It is a standard. Of the word of God, it's a standard of God. It's a standard of holiness and purity. Fornication is out. Extramarital relations are out. All of these things are out. Say we need to be bold about this, and I'll tell you one of the reasons that these things are out is because the marital relationship was designed by the holy God to portray and picture to a hurting world. The love that obtains between Jesus Christ and his church and every married couple and every prospective married couple has the opportunity to show to a hurting world the love of God in their marriage. And that's one of the things that's not happening in our society today in the Christian church. What an opportunity we have to be a distinctive people and to show the love of God, are we able to do that? Yes, we are. That's what we're talking about, isn't it? Living for God, living righteously for God, living a holy life before a watching world, being a distinctive people. And how many of us have had lately? Someone come to us and say to us, you know. Tell me about the hope that's in you. Explain to me why it is that you're so different. Hands. OK. It ought to be taking place, hadn't it? And before a watching world, say, I think this is one of the things toward which we ought to be moving. Number nine in the outline. God works on the believer in two ways. God works to make us willing to do God's good pleasure. He inclines our hearts in this direction. God energizes us to work at his good pleasure. Not only the willing, but the doing of it. Say, I think I think that many people. And this happens to be where Denny Prudhoe is, so I guess you'll have to bear with me on this. But I think many of us are saying, you know, I know what God wants. But I'm not sure I have the ability within me to do it. I'm not sure I really have it within me to do it. What is Philippians chapter two and verses 12 and 13 say? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. I submit to you that if there is a willingness which is present, but an acknowledged inability to do what God wants, that there's a serious problem present. What do you think? It's awful quiet in here. You think that's true? Say, I. I know. In my own heart. That I have a ways to go. And I would freely say with the Apostle Paul that I've got a long ways to go, but I think Paul is also saying, look, the living God has put you on the road. He's given you a map, a textbook, and he's given you the Holy Spirit so that you can follow that textbook. And there are going to be some times when you trip and fall and fail. But you get up immediately and you go on. You put off the old and you put on the new. The process of sanctification is possible, it is real, and it's indispensable to the Christian life. And change does come about. And don't get in the rut where you think That change is not possible. God is at work in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. And I thank God that's the case, I really do. And I think if we get that message not only in our heads. But in our hearts more thoroughly. We will be a different people. And I think this is where I'm coming from again. I think that when people see Christians then, they do see a different people. And when they enter the church, they see a dramatically different people, and they see a people who are delighting in A God whom they desire to serve with all of their hearts and learn from Him. And it's not just a drug kick, where I can say, you may get your kicks from cocaine, I get my kicks from Jesus. It's not just that. But it runs a lot deeper than that. Because it really is a life changing Gospel we're talking about. I got some hands again. Doesn't the Bible also talk about how many problems that everyone from back to David to Paul had? And a lot of times it gets too overwatched with, you know, well, we're struggling more now than they were back then. But, if you go back through it, they had just as much going on. In fact, the persecution was probably even worse back then, and they still stumbled and they still fell, but it's only that through Christ, they're coming back through the Bible, that they ever made it. So, if anything is telling us that, hey, yeah, they screwed up, we screwed up, still fix it. Okay? And maybe part of our problem is we're not suffering enough persecution. Maybe if God and his providence brought along a little bit more persecution, we'd be better off as a Christian church. I'm leaving. OK, what is Paul's view of the believer? The believer is an alien, a citizen of heaven. The believer is a participant in the divine nature. The believer works out the implication of that status. The believer has a relish for doing God's good pleasure. The believer acts out the will of God. We tremble before God as we do so, because we know we stand before the living God. And it's only in his strength that any of this is possible. And it's all for his glory that this comes about. And brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what God wants. This is God's will that we're talking about. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God. Who is at work in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure? Let's pray together. Father, thank you for our time together. I pray, Father, that as we weigh what we're talking about, as we consider your word, as we look at our place in your world, I pray, Father, that you'd be pleased to make of us a people, a holy people, a people that would, in the words of the Apostle Peter, prove that calling that you have granted. In the words of the Apostle Paul that we have looked at, to really work out the implications of this salvation that you have given. Father, we're all feeble. We are all individuals in need of your grace. And I ask, Father, especially if there be in our midst any who in a saving way for the first time, needs that grace, that change of heart, that new birth. Would you be pleased, O God, to grant it? I thank you, Father, that it is in situations like this, where your people are gathered, where your spirit is present, where we're looking at your word, that you are pleased to work in a special way to change human hearts. Do your work, sovereign God, we pray. Grant the gifts of repentance and faith. Grant, O God, in all of our hearts that inclination which turns us from sin to you. Thank you for the words of the apostle, that you are at work in us, both to will and to work your good pleasure. Cause us to mull this over, Father, and mull over our status before you, we pray. Forgive all of our sins, we ask, because of the great work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross, bearing the sins of his people and then rising again. Grant that resurrection power in the life of your people, in the life of your church, in the life of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.