3.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• We live in a crooked and perverse society, where complaining is normal.
• God will judge the people of this world for their discontentment and complaining.
• Jesus Christ died so that we can be forgiven for our discontentment.
• When God forgives us, he also gives us his Holy Spirit.
• By the power of the Spirit, we must live our lives with great respect for God,
  - thanking and praying to him instead of complaining.
• Then we will shine as lights in the world.

3.2 Philippians 2:12–16a←⤒🔗

^12. So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,

^13. for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.

^14. Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

^15. so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

^16.a by holding on to the word of life…

© NET Bible

3.3 The sin of discontentment←⤒🔗

In the previous lesson, we saw that discontentment is a sin. Still, many people have discontented hearts. They like to complain about other people and about their own situations. Instead of thanking God, they are unhappy and they grumble.

If we are honest, this is sometimes true of all of us. There are many times when we complain instead of thanking God. Sometimes we complain aloud, with our words. At other times we complain quietly, in our hearts. But God sees and hears all our discontentment.

In this lesson we will think about the sin of discontentment. But we will also see how wonderful the grace of God is. He forgives us for our discontentment and he changes our hearts.

3.4 A crooked society←⤒🔗

In our passage from Philippians 2, Paul says that we live amongst a “crooked and perverse society” (verse 15). People who do not know God are “crooked.” This means that their lives are going in the wrong direction. They are also “perverse.” This means that they do not live in the way that God created people to live.

In this crooked society, complaining is normal. People will often say things like:

• “Life is unfair!”
• “I work and work, and what do I get?”
• “If you were married to my wife, you would also be stressed!”
• “I hate that politician!”
• “The weather is so bad!”

When people say these things, they show that they do not think about God. They have forgotten that God gives them life, food to eat, a place to stay, sunshine, and many other good gifts. They also don’t realise that they are sinners who do not deserve any good gift from God.

When Jesus comes again, this crooked society will be punished for their complaints. God says that he will judge all the “grumblers and faultfinders” (Jude 1:16).

3.5 Rebels forgiven!←⤒🔗

We might think that discontentment is not a very serious sin. But God sees it as very serious. When the Israelites complained in the desert, God punished them with fire and disease. He also called them “rebels” (Numbers 17:10). When you complain, you are rebelling against God. You deserve God’s punishment: death and hell.

But God showed his wonderful grace to rebels like you and me. We see something of this grace in the history of the Israelites. One day, when the Israelites became thirsty in the desert, they started to complain again. But instead of striking (killing) the Israelites, God stood on a rock and told Moses to strike the rock! When Moses did this, water came out of the rock and people could drink from it (Exodus 17:6).

In 1 Corinthians 10:4 we learn that this rock was a sign of Jesus Christ, who would come 1500 years after Moses. Jesus, who is God himself, would take the beatings that the Israelites deserved. He would be killed in their place, so that they could have life.

When Jesus died on the cross, he took on himself the punishment that we deserved. Like the Israelites, we too are guilty of discontentment and complaining. But if we put our faith in Jesus, we receive forgiveness of sins. All our sins—even our sins of grumbling and complaining—are forgiven. Instead of death, we receive life!

3.6 Called to be different←⤒🔗

God’s grace is truly wonderful. When he forgives our sins, he also gives us his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in our lives, to make us more and more like Jesus Christ. Jesus never complained, but lived his whole life with thankfulness and trust in God. That is the kind of life that God calls you and me to live.

As a believer in Christ, you have a responsibility. By the power of the Spirit, you must “continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence” (verse 12 of our passage).

This means that you must always be very careful with how you live. To live “with awe and reverence” means to have great respect for God in everything you say, do, and think. If you live in this way, you will not complain anymore. You will use every opportunity to thank God and to pray to him.

As Paul continues to say, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world…” (verses 14-15).

If we do everything without grumbling or arguing, we will be very different from the world around us. We will “shine as lights in the world.” Through our peace and contentment, we will show the world how good our God is!