Ep. 35 | Standing Firm Together | Philippians

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Philippians 4:1-3. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

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Welcome to Formed by the Word, a podcast where we don't just read the Bible, we invite it to shape our lives. In each episode, Pastor Eddie Blaylock will provide daily devotionals seeking to connect real scripture to real life. We'll be starting with the book of Philippians. This incredible letter clearly reveals how life in Christ shapes a resilient faith and a joy that is not dependent on circumstances. So wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, and let's be formed by the word together.

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I don't know if it's a true story or not, but it certainly could be. I heard about a church once that nearly split. Not over theology, not over doctrine, not over leadership, but over the thermostat. One group that liked it cold said, if it's not freezing, the spirit isn't moving. The other group who liked it warm, they said, No, we want to feel the fire of God, not frost white. So every Sunday became a silent battle. One person would turn the thermostat down to sixty eight. Five minutes later, someone bumps it up to seventy-four. Then someone sneaks back and drops it again and on and on and on it goes. At one point they considered putting a lockbox over the thermostat, but then they had to figure out how to form a committee and decide who would get the key. And of course, that caused another disagreement altogether. As funny and as strange as that may sound, isn't it amazing how small preferences can create such a big tension in life, in families, in businesses, and also in churches. Not because people are bad, but because somewhere along the way we start protecting our preferences more than our unity. Our preferences become more important than the strength of our unity. And that's exactly what Paul is addressing in today's text. Two faithful, godly women, Yodia and Syntiche, who are not enemies of the church, but are in great conflict within the church. So Paul steps in and says, Don't let something small divide what Jesus died to unite. And it's so important. Churches rarely split over doctrine. They're much more likely to split over thermostats. When preferences rise above purpose, unity falls apart. The problem in the story wasn't about the thermostat, really. It was more about values. It's amazing how quickly preferences can become principles, and principles can then become problems. Most church conflict doesn't start with major doctrine, it starts with minor preferences. Those preferences become major problems. So that's exactly why Paul steps into a situation in Philippians chapter four. The situation had become a threat to the church's unity. It involves some people that he loved and that he was friends with, but he knew he needed to step in with a firm word. And so we read what he wrote to his friends in Philippians chapter 4, verses 1 through 4. Here's what he writes. So then, my dearly beloved, and longed for brethren and sisters, my joy and my crown. In this manner, stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. I urge you, Odia, and I urge Syntichy to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life. Let's just walk through this as Paul deals with a problem that had arisen in the church. First of all, he makes an appeal. My dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and my crown. Paul begins by writing with a very affectionate language. This is not a correction from a distance, this is shepherding from his heart. Paul doesn't lead here with authority, he leads with affection. You begin to see why this is called Paul's most tender letter. In this appeal, we're reminded that truth lands best when it's delivered lovingly, or as someone rightly said, correction travels farther when carried by affection. Now, here is his appeal to his readers. He says, in this manner, stand firm in the Lord, my dear friends. So Paul was tender, but he was firm. He exhorts them to stand firm. That is, hold your ground, don't collapse, don't give in under pressure. One commentator said standing firm isn't just about persecution, it's also about relationships. And that's true. Many churches don't fall from the outside, they fracture from the inside. And many families don't crumble due to outside pressure, but from pressure and quarreling from within. You don't drift into strength, you stand firm on purpose. It's your decision to make. It's an imperative from the apostle. So he makes this appeal. Well then he moves to exposing a relational problem within the church. In verse 2, several key phrases. Let's just read them. He says, I urge eodia and I urge cyntiche. Now, Paul names names here. Now these are not random attendees. They are key contributors in the church, and this is not a doctrinal issue, it's a relational issue. Well, I know their names are a little bit hard to pronounce for us, but everybody knew these ladies, and these ladies had a problem. Paul said, I urge Euodia and Syntheci to agree in the Lord. Paul does not say, hey, just figure out who's right or who's going to win the argument. He doesn't pick sides. He says, agree in the Lord. What does that mean? Well, I think it means to agree for Christ's sake, agree for the sake of the gospel. Put aside your preferences for principle. Put aside what you would rather do or have for the sake of what others might see in you. It means to walk in unity, a unity that is rooted in Christ, not in personality, not in preference. It means that we should seek alignment in mission over personal preferences. The gospel is more important than our greed. Paul makes an important point. He says you can be right in opinion and still wrong in spirit, and still damage the church and the work of the gospel. Someone rightly said unity is not necessarily thinking the same, but it is moving in the same direction. Disagreement becomes division when Christ is no longer in the center. So what do we do with this? Here's a real problem in this church, and evidently it had risen to a place that Paul felt constrained to write. Paul offers a good solution in verse 3. He says, I ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life. So Paul calls for a third-party intervention. He asks his friend to intervene. Now, we don't really know who this friend is, but it's not necessary to know. Some scholars have tried to guess, but I'm not going to go there because the point is not who intervened. The point is that intervention is invited in. You see, sometimes unity requires intervention. We often think it's none of my business, but Paul says it is your business. Help restore unity. Who are these women? Well, again, one from Bradford County. These names are hard to pronounce, but we know this about them. They're partners in gospel ministry, they're faithful servants, and they're really not troublemakers. They just have a conflict. Even mature believers can have relational friction. Isn't that good to know? Because I think we all go there at one time or another. We just can't get along with this person. Or that person is just sandpaper in my life. Then Paul adds, these ladies' names are in the book of life. So Paul reminds him, you're on the same eternal team. You have the same savior, you have the same future, you have the same identity. You need to get along. In fact, it's hard to stay divided from someone you'll spend eternity with if you think about it. When you remember heaven, it changes how you handle things here and now for sure. So how do we handle these things? How do we put this into our own lives? I think Chuck Swindog gave some great handles for this. And so I just want to give you what he put down in his writing, in his great little book, Commentary of the Philippians, called Laugh Again. Here's what he suggested. He suggested four thoughts. One, clashes will continue to occur as long as depravity pollutes humanity. Wow, that is so true. I wish I could promise you otherwise, but I can't. Number two, he concludes from this passage that not all conflicts are wrong. Not all conflicts require reconciliation. At times it's important to be defiant and to fight. Even Jesus said a certain occasion, I've come bringing a sword. Third, if the disagreement should be resolved and could be resolved, but is not resolved, then stubbornness and selfishness are at the core. In fact, we may be adults in age and height, but sometimes we can be awfully childish in our attitude. And then finally, Swindah concludes, should you be the comrade or the partner or the friend needed to assist in the reconciliation? Remember the threefold objective. The ultimate goal is restoration, not discipline. The overall attitude is grace, not force, and the common ground is Christ, not logic or the church or tradition or even your will. Maybe you should ask this question. Is there someone I need to agree with in the Lord? Am I prioritizing being right over being reconciled? How can I celebrate a culture where unity is protected? And am I willing to step in and help someone else reconcile in a relationship? Takeaway for today is this. Don't let small disagreements create big divisions. There's something magnanimous about the name of Jesus that softens our attitude and diffuses disharmony. Somehow just the insertion of his name makes it inappropriate to maintain a fighting spirit. Why not pray and ask him for guidance? Heavenly Father, please guide us in this all-important matter. Please help us, O Lord, resolve conflicts. Help us, Lord, to be available, to be the agent, the intercessor, the interceder in a relationship that needs to be reconciled. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.