A Compelling Light in a Sin-Darkened World

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” (Philippians 2:14–18, ESV)

Philippians 2:14-18 offers timeless wisdom for living the Christian life in an unchristian age, which we have been considering over the last several articles (Part 1, Part 2).

In the last article, we saw the importance of contentment as we seek to live out the Christian faith in a hostile world. In addition to this, Paul emphasizes the importance of living a compelling life (vv. 15-16). When Christianity costs you something it becomes a temptation to run and hide in order to protect yourself. And while we should not unnecessarily put ourselves in harm’s way, it is impossible for us to be faithful in secret (cf. John 17:15). We have to live as faithful Christians in a sin-darkened age, which means we must shine as lights into the darkness.

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:14-15, ESV).

By the way, living a compelling life goes hand-in-hand with living a content life. Paul's language ("so that") indicates that one of the purposes for pursuing contentment is the impact it has on our witness to the world. This makes total sense. No one will ask you about the hope within you if you are always expressing discontentment (1 Peter 3:15).

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

A content life will be a compelling life to a world that is immersed in discontentment. When the world sees that we are content and joyful rather than grumbling and disputing, it will be compelling.

Compelling through holiness

Paul describes the purity that should characterize God’s children as possessing no compromise that would weaken our convictions or undermine our message (Romans 16:19). We should be blameless in the sense that no accusation in our own conscience that would disrupt our walk with our heavenly Father. The terms Paul uses are really just describing a life that is holy before God. A compelling Christian life begins with holiness!

Notice also how Paul describes the perversity of the world, by which Paul means the collective influence of those who are children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1). The world is inherently perverse, twisted, distorted. It is like bent steel with no structural integrity. These terms collectively describe a world that is apostate and godless and, as a result, is morally upside down and spiritually insane. Interestingly, this is the same language that is used in Deuteronomy 32:5 to describe apostate Israel. What this shows is that should seek to make our lives compelling not by trying to meet the culture halfway, repackaging our message in worldly terms, or participating in worldly endeavors. We make our lives compelling by living in accordance with the truth of the Gospel (1:27). In other words, we don’t become compelling through compromise; we become compelling lights through holiness (cf., 1 Peter 2:12).

Compelling through truth

If you want to change the world and influence it for righteousness, start by living a holy Christian life as a child of God, but don’t stop there. Paul describes a compelling life as light, which is what we should be in the culture. This is an intimidating thought when you take a moment to consider it--darkness is scary. We can’t control how dark the night is—I wish it weren’t as dark as it is—but we must shine bright. We can’t shine brightly if our thinking and our lives conform to the present darkness of this age.

The light Paul is talking about represents the grace and truth of Christ that has made us God’s children (John 8:12). We shine this light into darkness through our holy lives and through our Gospel witness (Matthew 5:14-16).

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, ESV).

Our light won’t defeat the world, but it can restrain enough to save some out of the world (Acts 26:18).

“To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18, ESV). Point:

The world is a kingdom of darkness and we have been called to shine as lights in the midst of this kingdom as those who have been delivered out of this kingdom (Colossians 1:12).

The most effective strategy for shining the light into the darkness is to hold fast to the truth. There is some question about whether Paul is saying that we should hold forth the truth or hold fast to the truth. However, I think the best way to view it is as holding fast; in other words, we must be faithful.The idea here is very similar if not synonymous to “standing firm” in Philippians 1:27 (cf. Revelation 3:11). When you think about it, this is a pretty powerful point about how the church can be a compelling witness for Christ. We simply refuse to compromise the truth in our message and in our lives. We hold fast to the truth and pursue holiness as God’s children. For all the other strategies for cultural engagement that we might consider, this is always where the church must start, our commitment to the truth. The influence of the world will not help us to reach the world. The only way to be a light in this world is to hold fast to the truth even when the whole world seems to hate the truth. There is nothing more compelling than a life that has been transformed by the Gospel and a church that refuses to compromise the word of God.

When I was in high school, I participated in a Bill Hybels community survey that was supposed to help the church determine how to reach the community. Here’s the problem: unregenerate people are trying to suppress the truth. So, if your goal is worldly acceptance, then a community survey is a great idea. However, if you want to compel the world to accept the Gospel, then you can’t listen to what the world wants. In fact, the danger when you take your cues from the world is that you compromise the church to such a degree that it is no longer the church. This is what happens when the culture becomes compelling to the God's children; you lose what is the most compelling feature of the church, its sanctifying relationship with God (cf., Romans 12:1-2). You don’t reach the world by becoming like the world; you influence the world by holding fast to the word of life. As we live as citizens of heaven here on earth, we must seek to do so in a compelling manner by living holy lives and faithfully holding to the truth in our ministries.