And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." - Philippians 1:9-11
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This is the last installment of this series in Philippians. We have looked at he essentials of CHristian living: prayer, love, holiness, straightforward living through sincerity, and now we are looking righteousness. Last week, as we finished on straightforward living, we talked about being without offense meaning living in righteousness. The way we do so is to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Now here, righteousness is concerned with the stance we have before God through Christ's substitutionary sacrifice. "which are by Christ Jesus," is an easy way to see the kind of righteousness Paul is referring to.
In many ways, "fruits of righteousness" is like saying "the fruits of salvation" or even "fruits of the Spirit" because they all point to the same source: God. This is kicker for all who read this as well. This righteousness is given to us; we have not acquired it by our own religious merit. This is the essence of being born again - to have a new nature in which righteousness spring out of our lives like fruit spring out a tree. Its natural! Moreover, Paul is using very similar terminology as he does with Spirit: "Be filled with the Spirit" or "be filled with the fruits of righteousness". It is a daily, even moment-by-moment choice to be filled with these things. They are natural for the Christian to have in their lives, but we all struggle with the unnatural in our lives. Therefore, it is a conscious choice to remember your nature in Christ Jesus, and be slave to the righteousness of Christ.
This is how we live without offense and sincerity; our source is Jesus Himself. His righteousness and new life are the foundation or roots of our lives. We do not need the law, for righteousness itself is in our hearts. The question now is will we live it out.
The last phrase reminds me of Jesus words,
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do you light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Our light shining, our righteousness being lived out, brings glory and praise to God. How? This righteousness is not our own but a gift from God. He has transformed us so that any good thing that comes from us is attributed to the grace and majesty of Christ in our lives. ALthough this last phrase is only coupled with the last command (being sincere and without offense), we all know that it is a result of all the things mentioned in this passage. Remember Paul's words today, and bring glory and praise to God through your deeds.
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