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Philipians 1:9-11

Paul here tells us that a mature love increases in knowledge and discernment.

PROPOSITION: A mature love increases in knowledge and discernment

I. YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND JUDGMENT NEEDS TO WORK WITH YOUR LOVE

Knowledge is a key part of love that enhances the quality of love.

Now the knowledge and discernment that Paul speaks of here is relating to people. Knowledge and discernment is the ability to see not only what is good and bad, but also what is important and unimportant, proper and improper. Knowledge and discernment are a part of love.

It is kind of like building a house. Knowledge is the blueprints of the home, discernment is the plan to work out those blueprints, and love is the actual construction.

If we just had the plans we would have nothing. (READ 1 Corinthians 8:1)

Also if you just have love without knowledge, you would have an immature almost obnoxious love. It would like trying to build a house without blueprints. You have all the best intentions in the world, but you accomplish nothing because you don’t know what you are doing. Have you met someone like that, where they have all the best intentions, but they are just obnoxious? These people usually end up smothering others with their good intentions.

Or if someone is doing something foolish in their lives, you do not just tell them they are dumb and ruining their lives. You can show love though and approach them as a concerned brother or sister and help them as much as they will let you help them.

When we have this mature love

II. WE CAN BE PURE AND BLAMELESS UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST (READ Philipians 1:10)

This verse here implies that we are not perfect. We need to work to become blameless and pure.

The idea is that when we have a mature love, others will recognize that we want to do good and we want to help and that we are not trying to just sell them something. A lot of people just think that we Christians just want to sell them something. We are just interested in them getting into the Church so we can get their money. But when we have this mature love, others will see our genuine care for them. They will see someone that cares about them as a person. They will see someone who is pure.

They will also see someone who is blameless. The idea here is of someone who is a smooth road, he does not cause other’s to stumble when they travel on him. They can bring nothing against him that is wrong. It is not someone who is perfect, but it is someone who other’s can deal with and never stumble on account of how the Christian acts or what he says.

This is not someone when they are frustrated calls the other person stupid or fat, because that would cause that other person to stumble. They are a smooth road and others can see the good in them when they travel on them.

(Sermon by Eric Herendeen)

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