Let the peace of the gospel be evident in your lives
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Finally, Paul says, Christians guarded by God’s peace should endeavor to cultivate a wholesome thought-life. Their thoughts should center on all those virtues that are pleasing to God, and they should strive to put them into practice in their lives. Here too, we reap what we sow. The kind of thought-life we cultivate will be reflected in the kind of words and actions we produce. So Christians must daily endeavor to fill their minds with things that are truthful and not vain or deceptive. They should think about things that are respectable and befitting Christian dignity, things that agree with God’s law, things that are moral and pure, things that breathe and evoke the spirit of Christian love, things that are excellent and worthy of praise before both God and man.
Are we concerned enough about the kind of thought-life we are cultivating as Christians? Are the things with which we regularly fill our minds really the things that are true and noble, right and pure, lovely and admirable, excellent and praiseworthy? Or are we in the habit of filling our minds with the moral garbage on which our ungodly society gorges itself? Do the books we read, the television programs we watch, the movies we see, even the things we have trained our minds and eyes to catch as we go about our daily routine in life, contribute to a wholesome thought-life? Or are we allowing our thought-lives to become greenhouses in which the devil’s plants are grown? What we sow in our thoughtlives, we reap in our words and actions. “Brothers, . . . think about such things.”
Paul and others had clearly taught the Philippians about the excellent and praiseworthy things that Christians should think about, and they had exemplified them in their conduct. The Philippians knew that Paul was not a pastor who said, “Do as I say, not as I do.” He was a pastor whose word and example they could joyfully heed and follow. As the Philippian believers heeded his instructions and followed his example, as Christians of every age heed the instructions and follow the examples of faithful pastors and teachers, they enjoy the presence of the God of peace in their lives as their guide and helper, encourager and friend.