Philippians 2:14-15 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Living Godly lives:
The Holy Spirit does not take it lightly the obligation we have to live godly lives. This “list” contains both warnings and promises. Just as children need instruction as they increase in age and development, so we need instructions as we learn to walk in Christ on this earth. Isa tells us to learn to do well (Isa 1:17).
Eliminate these from our life:
Murmurings – the Greek word for this is goggusmos and means to mumble to oneself. We are to do everything w/o murmurings. Some think that murmuring to your self is harmless, but this leads to open rebellion and dissent among people (Psa 106:25; Ex 16:2; Num 14:2). Paul warned about murmuring drawing from the Israelites in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:10).
No disputing – dialogismos – a logical debate with one self. Disputing connects with the murmuring as a heart attitude where you are complaining under your breath while it all festers within your spirit. This leads to ungodly behavior as well as open resistance against what you are murmuring and disputing about. These were the heart attitudes of the children of Israel in the wilderness. The writer of Hebrews connects it to the hardening of the heart (Heb 3:8).
Reason for eliminating these:
Paulk tells us that if we do not eliminate these spiritual bad attitudes from our life we will not be blameless and harmless. Blameless means to be “without reproach”, and carries the idea of others not being able to accuse you. Harmless is the idea of being totally innocent. This goes along with Jesus telling us to harmless as doves.
We live in the midst of a crooked and perverse world; a world of ungodly people and evil ideals, therefore we are to rid our hearts of these attitudes so we can shine as lights. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world and when we shine brightly by having pure hearts and minds we will glorify God and rebuke the wickedness of this world (Matt 5:15; Eph 5:11). This is God’s expectation of His children here on this earth. He has provided the instruction and He also provides the power to accomplish it.
Establishing our hearts:
God wants to establish our hearts (make them secure in His power) 1 Thes 3:13. God will establish our hearts if we allow Him, but if we resist Him then we will continue to murmur and dispute and bring reproach upon Him, His name and the church. Paul tells us that he wants us to be wise about doing good but simple about evil (Rom 16:19). Simple usually means “gullible” but here it carries the idea of not knowing evil by experience.
If we eliminate murmurings and disputing in our attitudes and actively seek to be blameless and harmless, then we will be we/o rebuke in the midst of this ungodly and perverse world (2 Pet 3:14).
