Sermon on Philippians 4:8

By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman

This sermon was preached on May 17, 1998

Philippians 4:4-9
verse 8
"Spiritually Correct Thoughts"

Introduction
We have all heard of Political Correctness. To be Politically Correct one must be pro-feminist, pro-gay rights, pro-minority studies, mistrustful of tradition, scornful of Dead White European Males, and deeply skeptical toward the very idea of a "masterpiece," because masterpiece implies that one idea, culture, or human being can actually be better than another. One must believe in a consumerist approach to education: whatever the student wants is what the curriculum ought to be. At a deeper level, to be politically correct means to debunk the enduring intellectual values of American life. For the generations that came before us, those values were pluralism, freedom of individual opportunity, integration, free speech, and moral absolutes.

Political Correctness means you think and talk a certain way – a way that is most certainly reflected in the mass media. Political Correctness says gay rather than "Homo" or homosexual. Political Correctness says pro-choice rather then pro-abortion. Political Correctness says disability rather than handicap. Political Correctness says Afro-American rather than Black or something else. Political Correctness says Hillary Rodham Clinton rather than Hillary Clinton.

Our text this morning tells us about something far more important than Political Correctness. It tells us about Spiritual Correctness. God's children strive for Spiritual Correctness. They strive to think and talk the way God wants. Those who are Spiritually Correct think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. That's what it means to be Spiritually Correct.

To be Spiritually Correct we need to do two things: we need to get rid of what is impure and we need to focus on the pure.

I Get Rid of Impure Thinking
A There is a reason why Paul urges us to be Spiritually Correct. You see, we are surrounded every day by so much that is impure. So we need a reminder to be pure.

Turn on the TV. Too often we see sex and violence. Too often we hear profanity and cursing. That is true even for prime-time TV, cartoons, and what passes for news today.

Publishers have found that sex and violence sells magazines and books and newspapers. So hardly a day or a week goes by without one of these subjects staring us in the face. It has reached the point where very few people say anything about the annual swim suit issue of Sports' Illustrated.

Many children today are surrounded by guns and violence and drugs either at school or in gangs.

Every week we hear about another attempt to advance homosexual and abortion rights with the Christian viewpoint being mocked and scorned.

Go to certain stores in town and you can purchase almost any kind of pornography.

Go to the Internet and you can find all kinds of sites and discussion groups filled with hate-literature against people of other races or nationalities. You can find sites and discussion groups filled with the lies of sects and cults and false religions. You can find sites and discussion groups devoted to pornography.

All of these are outside of us and surrounding us. But I can also point to some of the impurities that are within us.

Maybe you are in conflict with someone: a spouse, a former spouse, a child, a parent, a brother or sister, a church member. You become angry just thinking about that other person. In fact, in your heart you may hate them.

Maybe you are a bigot and a racist and have no love for people of other races or nationalities.

Maybe you have a problem with lust. Your mind is filled with all sorts of images of naked men or women.

Maybe your problem is greed and covetousness.

I am sure you get the point: around us and within us there is so much that is impure.

B As I told the children, many of us are careful about what we eat. We pay attention to the way different types of food affect our body. But do we pay the same attention to the way we feed or fill our mind, our imagination, our spirit? When it comes to feeding our mind, too often we pick junk food rather than something healthy (HOLD UP JUNK FOOD, GOOD SANDWICH).

Paul tells us this morning that we need to be as concerned about what fills our mind as we are concerned about what fills our body. Paul says,

(Phil 4:8) Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Instead of filling our mind with impure thoughts, we need to fill it with pure thoughts. That's what our text tells us.

C But there is another reason too. What happens when we concentrate on the impure? What happens when we see only the bad in the world? What happens when we have eyes only for the evil that God permits in our lives? What happens when we are not Spiritually Correct?

Let me tell you what happens. We become so accustomed to certain impurities that they no longer bother us. For instance, we hear and see so much about abortion and homosexual behavior that we no longer think of it as being evil in God's sight. Or, we no longer realize we are looking at half naked men or women on the TV. Or, we become so accustomed to seeing adultery and pre-marital sex that we even begin to accept it. The very next step, of course, is that we even begin to participate in the stuff we know to be wrong. The best example of this kind of behavior is Lot. He started off by living on the plains, keeping away from the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. But pretty soon he was pitching his tent right next to Sodom. And right after that we find him living in Sodom itself. The end result was his daughters getting him drunk and sleeping with him.

Let me tell you what else happens. A sense of despair sets in. Darkness begins to grow within us. We become discouraged and depressed. We give up on everything: ourselves, others, the church, the world, and even God.

D Let me tell you the most important reason to be Spiritually Correct. Do you think Jesus dwells on the impure? Do you think He is all doom and gloom? Do you think He allows hatred in His heart? Do you think He fills His mind with smut and bigotry and racism? Of course not!

Jesus has bought us with His own blood. Therefore, we belong to Him. And we must be like Him. Paul says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5). In fact, God's goal in saving us is to make us like Jesus. So, like Jesus, we need to keep impurities away from us.

E We need to be Spiritually Correct. We need to get rid of what is impure.

Let me tell you what this means for today. This means we don't have to listen to or look at what is ignoble, wrong, impure, ugly, contemptible, inferior, or ridiculous. For instance, we can always reach over and turn off the radio or TV. We can write to producers and editors and request positive news. We can disconnect our modem rather than view cybersex. When we go to Blockbuster we don't have to rent movies with sex and violence. When we buy CDs, we don't need music and lyrics that fill our minds with corruption. When we stop at the corner store we don't have to buy Playboy or Penthouse. When we go to the library we don't have to take out the latest Romance Novel.

To a large extent each one of us has to make a choice. We have to make a choice to ignore what is bad and wicked. To be Spiritually Correct we need to consciously avoid and shun what is impure.

II Focus on the Pure
A To be Spiritually Correct, though, we need to do still more. We also have to make a choice to pick out what is good and righteous.

We have to stay away from poison, what is impure. But that does not mean we starve our mind; that does not mean we keep our mind empty. To live, the body needs to be fed by a steady diet of wholesome food; in the same way, the mind needs to be nourished by a diet of wholesome thoughts. So God says in our text,

(Phil 4:8) Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

B When it comes to what we feed our mind, we need to choose our diet of information carefully. We need to discern what is best and fill our mind with that. We need to think about good things. Above all, this means we need to focus our eyes on Jesus and God and grace.

We have so much information available to us today from the radio, TV, videos, newspapers, magazines, books, computers, the Internet. God tells us this morning to use these technologies to get in touch with what is true and beautiful. Use these technologies to find the kinds of things that shine with God's wisdom and goodness.

C Why is it so important to fill our mind with good things? I am reminded of the advertisement that used to be on TV. "You are what you eat" said the advertiser for margarine, pork, or whatever it was that was being sold. We can be a big blob of cholesterol, or we can be a healthy hunk of protein. Now I want to change the advertisement to fit our text: "You are what you think." You see, our thoughts and desires never remain as simply thoughts and desires. They eventually become reality. There comes a time when we live them out, when we act on them, when we become what we think.

What happens, for instance, if you fill your mind with thoughts of money? Chances are very good you become a grasping, greedy, materialist. What happens if you fill your mind with guns and violence. Chances are very good you will use violence on those around you. Now, what happens if you fill your mind with what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy? I think you know the answer: you will become more like Jesus; you will be a better person.

Fill your mind with great thoughts and desires and you will be more of the kind of person God wants you and created you to be and saved you to be. Fill your mind with great thoughts and desires and you will be Spiritually Correct.

D Be Spiritually Correct. Fill your mind with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Where do we find such things to think about? The Bible is the first place to start. Where can we find anything more true and noble than words breathed by God Himself? Where can we find anything more lovely than the Lord's love letter to us as He tells us about Christ and grace and salvation? Where can we find anything more admirable and excellent and praiseworthy than the teachings of Jesus and His apostles?

This makes me think of what the poet, the Psalmist, writes in Psalm 19 to describe the Word or Law of God:

(Ps 19:7-11) The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (8) The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (9) The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. (10) They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. (11) By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

According to the psalmist, in the Word of God we find whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

If we want to be Spiritually Correct, if we want to feed our minds with things that make us more like Jesus, if we want to pass on our faith to our children, do you know what we have to do? We have to spend time with the sweet, precious Word of God. We need to read it daily. We need to think about it constantly. We need to so immerse ourselves in the Word that we can't go anywhere and can't do anything without being aware of God and thinking of His Word.

E Be Spiritually Correct. Fill your mind with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Where else do we find such things to think about? Look for good things. Don't just avoid rotten books. Read good ones. Drink in stories and poems and ideas that stretch the mind and lift the spirit. Take the same approach to TV and movies. There are plenty of bad shows we need to avoid, but there are also some good ones, ones that tell a good story and inspire noble ideals or are simply a delight to watch.

Those with computers and a modem need to steer clear of cybersex. But you can also use them to discover amazing things about God's wonderful and mysterious world. The same goes for music: tune out bad stations, and get rid of videos and CDs that play any music that is degrading. But listen to music that stirs the soul and helps you to praise God.

We have members who are gifted in music, art, poetry, and writing. We should never be so busy attacking what is wrong with art and entertainment and information that we don't encourage Christians who are gifted in these areas. Those of you who are so gifted, use those gifts to bring out what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and so on. Those of you who are so gifted, be Spiritually Correct in how you use those gifts.

Conclusion
God calls us this morning to be Spiritually Correct in what we feed our minds. God calls us to get rid of what is impure. God calls us to focus on what is pure.

When it comes to feeding our mind, we are to pick healthy food rather than junk food (HOLD UP JUNK FOOD, GOOD SANDWICH).

What it comes down to is this: we are to make every thought captive to Christ.

You can e-mail our pastor at: Pastor, Trinity United Reformed Church

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