Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (9) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory Of God the Father

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul who was a prisoner in Rome for preaching the gospel. Our verses today today tell us that Jesus, son of God, having the full nature of God, was willing to adopt a manner of existence and submerge his deity when he, willingly, took upon Himself the nature of man at His incarnation. Taking the nature of man imposed certain restrictions on Christ Jesus but that did not include a sinful nature; taking on the likeness of man – appearing as a human being – and becoming obedient to the Father to death, even death by crucifixion which was so terrible that Roman citizens were exempt from this end is our supreme example to follow. Jesus taught us that the test of the submissive mind is not how much suffering we are willing to take but how much we are willing to give. Because of his true and acceptable sacrifice Christ saved us from our sins. and is is acknowledged by universal exclamation by the Father and He is Lord of of those in heaven, and on earth and under the earth – over all created beings; all will bow before Christ Jesus.

To glorify Jesus is to glorify the Father because Jesus is God and God’s glory is the aim of this eternal purpose. If people who will not willingly glorify Christ on earth their will do so against their will throughout eternity.
If Jesus is Lord we need to dethrone ourselves. We are not to take on humility, service and obedience to be exalted in Christ Jesus but we do it because we are transformed and reborn in faith in Christ – we are new people and cannot do any other and verbal confession of Lordship will accompany physical submission.

God’s eternal purpose is accomplished in the most unlikely ways and by the most unlikely people. All through the Bible God shows us He values humility, love, submission and perseverance. In this so very secular society, we, as His people, must live as from this world and not of it. Because of Christ’s actions “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

(19) For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (22) But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. (23) For I am hardpressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (24) Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (27) Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel

The apostle Paul wrote the “prison letter” to the Philippians from Rome as he had been under arrest for preaching the gospel. As a Roman citizen he had appealed to Caesar for judgment – he would either be pardoned or executed – and in our verses he is weighing his options; Physical deliverance from prison or spiritual deliverance from earthly life – clearly he expected the former. To live or die his life revolved around Christ Jesus and Christ was the reason for his existence. In Christ Paul found joy in any circumstance.

What are we living for? If our purpose is wrong our direction will be wrong. Paul was clear about his purpose and this took eternity into account; the fact of death and what lies beyond. In faith in Christ we are dead to sin and in life we experience Christ. Our focus should be the the end game – our “gain” of Christ is sufficient for the believer. We are to live for Christ and not ourselves. We should challenge the cultural idea of retirement as we are never retired from living Christ. In our verses we see this is Paul’s sole aim; he did all things for the sake of the gospel and makes it clear that he walked by the Spirit every day in every situation. Our culture seems to think of death – if we think of it at all – as an end, not a beginning. We avoid thinking or talking about death unnecessarily but we are not ready to live until we are ready to die. For Christians, like Paul, to live purposefully is to live for Christ and and to die is gain – this does not mean we are not to mourn or desire death.

Reading these verses we should be asking ourselves ‘What am I living for’? We should be clear, be all in and be joyful in the Lord.

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are to the Lord’s. (9) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul. Our verses today deal with conduct of Christians in matters non-essential; matters not doctrinal or matters on which the Bible is silent and do not affect one’s salvation. In Christ we have religious liberty and we are not under the Mosaic law any longer. The essence of religious liberty is that we do what we do “for the Lord”. We are not to judge others in these matters as we don’t know what’s in their hearts and it’s easy to judge people wrongly. To be clear, Paul is just dealing here in non-essential matters. We are warned not to violate our own conscience – glorifying God in all that we do is the issue; not judging others but judging ourselves.

An example of nonessential matters would be observation of the Christian sabbath. There is not a single commandment in the New Testament requiring the Gentile church to observe Sunday as the Christian sabbath.
This is not doctrine and smacks of legalism. There is a principle to gather on Sunday but not a command. Instead our verses today tell us to live to the Lord and while the faithful might believe Sunday worship glorifies God, it’s not sinful not to and we are applying biblical principles to a nonessential issue. We shouldn’t do what we do because of habit or because everyone else does it; motive is the key. Since God is judge of all we must not judge other believers in matters of indifference.

We don’t live for our own pleasure but regulate our heart, conscience and life for Christ – scripture requires this of us. The duty of devotion is not founded on creation but on redemption – Christ bought us at a price. Christ is Lord of the dead and the living and our verses refer to HIs death and resurrection. The authority of Christ over His people is not confined to this world but extends beyond the grave.

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (9) For the commandments ”You shall not commit adultery,” ”You shall not murder,” “you shall not steal,” ”You shall not bear false witness,” ”You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, ”You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In Romans, chapter 13, the apostle Paul deals mainly with our political duties and our conduct as Christians in society. Our verses today are NOT a prohibition against proper use of credit but a discussion of the one debt we will always owe and that is the debt of love Christians owe to all others. Jesus said that love is the distinguishing mark of His followers and marks how they are known. Paul frequently wrote of the command to love our neighbors which is evidence of genuine faith. In faith we are transformed and this is the foundation for loving others and seeking to do God’s will – if we try to love others when we have not experienced the love of God in Christ we are just into moralism and again back into the belief that works can earn salvation. Only in faith will our motive be to love the God who loved us while we were still sinners. Loving one another is a command that extends to loving all people – we may not like them but we are commanded to love them. Just think how galling it is to learn a lesson from someone we don’t like – but it changes our perspective. Love is an act of will involving not just our feelings.

In our verses today Paul cites commandments to show what love does NOT do and that is “love does no harm to a neighbor”. This is particularly relevant in this present time of violence and mindless destruction of property. Loving others is a lifelong process and a debt that can never be paid off.

My favorite, c.s. Lewis writes of our lifelong process of sanctification: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that is He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. “

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome. Chapter 12 – and our verses today- begins addressing the application in our lives of the doctrine Paul taught in the preceding Chapters (1-11) which cover justification by faith alone in Christ alone and sanctification resulting in salvation. It is made crystal clear that salvation has nothing to do with human merit or efforts but are a result of the mercies of God. We know the why and now Paul is teaching the how.

I came across this quote while researching the context and meaning of verses 1-2 in Romans 12 – “living sacrifices have a way of crawling off the altar”. This reasonable service Paul exhorts his readers to accomplish means that such commitment is both continuous and progressive – Paul is referring not only to our bodies but our minds – reasonable service means the nature of such service is that worship rendered by the mind. This requires consecration of ourselves to God. Not only are we to worship the God of such mercy, but there must be a holiness of life which means we are to live in this world but not of this world. Paul is saying that the mass of mankind is considered in opposition to the people of God and the renewal of mind of the faithful is not just a mere external change but one that arises from a change of heart.
The end of verse two means that Christians should know, delight in and practice whatever is good and acceptable to God – the moral will of God as revealed in the Bible. These verses introduce the sections to follow that deal with Christian conduct. Our relationship to God in Christ is foundational and governs all our behavior; we are to behave as we believe.