THINKING AND ACTING LIKE A CHRISTIAN             by Rodney Langley
 

Scripture:  PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9

INTRODUCTION

To live the Christian life, one must think clearly and act correctly.  One who thinks without acting is like a hunter who aims his gun but never fires it.  One who acts without thinking is like a hunter who fires his gun without aiming.  Both thinking and acting are addressed in our text.

I. THINKING LIKE A CHRISTIAN

A.  Paul begins verse 8 with the word finally.  This could mean that Paul is drawing his letter to a close or it could mean that these are the final observations concerning his line of thought began in verse 4.

B. Right Traits- to think like a Christian we must be thinking on the correct traits.

    1. True- signifies that which is genuine or real as opposed to a falsehood or deception.

    2. Honorable (honest, noble)- refers to lofty things, majestic things, things that lift eh mind from the cheap and crude to
    that which  is  noble and good and of moral worth.

    3. Just (right)- refers to doing what is right.

    4. Pure- translated from the same root word as the word for holy, morally undefiled.

    5. Lovely- is from a compound word meaning toward love, it refers to that which evokes a response of love.

    6. Good report (commendable, gracious)- that which is well-spoken of; from a compound word meaning good saying.

C. This list of qualities is followed by two conditional phrases.  Virtue (excellence) refers to the excellence that the righteous are to maintain, and praise, that is anything worthy of praise.  The thought here is if there is anything excellent and if there be anything worthy of praise then we should respond in a certain way.

D. Right Thinking- We are to think carefully, we are to make the afore mentioned traits the subject of our thoughtful consideration.  We must focus on them.  Look again at the words true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and good report.  What is important is not so much the definitions of these words, bur the general impression left by the combination of words:  that which is good and uplifting, in contrast with that which is dirty and degrading.  Paul’s admonition viewed negatively might read: Do not let your mind dwell on things that are false, dishonorable, immoral, etc.  The mind naturally dwells on something.  Paul instructs us to fix our thoughts on good things, not bad things; on positive things, not negative things; on things that build us up, not on things that tear us down.

E. Two great discoveries of modern psychology are that our lives are governed by our thoughts and we can control our thoughts.  Thus every individual has the power, in one sense, to control their lives by controlling their thoughts.  Consider Proverbs 23:7.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”  Someone else has said, “The soul is dyed the color of its thinking.”  I like to remember the old computer term garbage in-garbage out. 

F.  I know some of you are thinking that you cannot control your thoughts.  And true, sometimes thoughts pop into our minds from time to time.  However, it is how you deal with those thoughts more than the thoughts themselves.  Will you dwell on the bad thought or replace it with a good thought?  There is an old saying, “You can’t keep the birds from flying overhead, but you can keep them from building nests in your hair.”  When bad thoughts come into your head, think on those things that are pure, just, lovely, true, etc.  The more we control our thoughts, the easier it will be to.
 

II. ACT LIKE A CHRISTIAN

A.  Why does Paul want us to concentrate our thoughts on edifying things?  He knew that those thoughts would shape our actions.  It is insufficient to think like Christians and not act like Christians.  In order to act like Christians, we need...

B. Right Teaching

    1.  They had heard Paul teach and preach.  Acts 20:20, 27; II Timothy 4:2-4

    2.  They had learned God’s word from Paul.  They comprehended what he taught and remembered it.  John 6:45

    3.  They saw the example of Paul.  Unlike the Pharisees (Matt. 23:3), Paul not only said, but he also did.  Nothing helps  
    understanding like an appropriate example.  Paul admonished both Timothy and Titus to be examples: 
     I Timothy 4:12-13; Titus 2: 7-8

    4.  They received what Paul had instructed.  It is important for us to both accept and abide by the teaching. 
    Matthew 7:21

C. Right Training

Paul said in verse 9, “These things do...” Do or practice stresses the process leading to a certain accomplishment.  The word suggests repeating an action until it becomes natural.  There are many Christians who are unwilling to develop their skills of Christian living through practice.
 

CONCLUSION

At the end of verse 9, he returns to the theme of peace.  Paul is saying that if you will think as you should and act as you should you will have peace.  To become a Christian and have access to the peace of god we must think clearly and act appropriately.  John 14:1