Think on These Things - The Discipline of a Christian Mind, Part 2

Back to Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. Again, this is part 2 of a message I've titled, "Think on these things, the discipline of a Christian mind." Think on these things, the discipline of a Christian mind, part 2. In part 1 of the series, we didn't rush into the list of these things found here in the verse. Instead, we labored over the command itself. Remember that? Because Philippians 4, 8, we said it's not a coffee mug verse. It's not a throw pillow verse. It's not a hobby lobby wall plaque. Paul didn't write it to decorate your living room, although, as Patty reminded me, having such mugs, pillows, plaques is perfectly fine.

Rather though, he wrote it to furnish your mind. He wrote it to furnish our minds. And we said last time, as Christians, we are responsible before God, accountable to God for the direction and occupation of our minds. The thought life is not morally neutral territory. What is hidden is not harmless, and what is hidden in the mind doesn't stay hidden forever. It shapes the affections. It shapes the speech. It shapes the conduct. It shapes the life. What lives in your mind will shape your life. Remember that? We ended last time with a question. We asked this. If Paul commands us to consider these things, then what exactly are these things?

What realities are worthy of Christian meditation? What sort of furniture belongs in the room of the Christian mind? And that's what we come to this morning. Our effort will be to answer those questions. So let's read the verse again. Philippians 4.8. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things." Now, last time we labored over the controlling verb at the end of the verse, "consider these things" or as the KJV renders it, "think on these things." Remember the word study?

The Greek word is logizomai. The bookkeeper's word. It means to reckon, to calculate, add it up, put it down in the ledger. Paul gives us the categories first, true, dignified, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. And then he says, "consider these things." So we're not merely asking again this morning, "must the Christian think?" Yes, he must. We settled that last time.

Today we're asking, "what must the Christian think upon or think about?" And Paul's answer, listen carefully here, Paul's answer is not shallow, it's not sentimental or frivolous, it's not vague positivity, it's not have a nice day, rather it's a set of God-shaped, Christ-centered categories by which the believer learns to furnish his mind. This morning's message has nine sections, one for each of the eight phrases Paul uses and then a final culmination at the close. Don't panic, the first couple are a bit longer than the rest. Number one, whatever is true, whatever is true. Paul begins where the Christian mind must begin.

He says, "whatever is true." I don't think that's a random choice, I don't think Paul is just listing words off the top of his head in a random order. He starts with truth because the Christian mind must start with truth. Not feelings, not impressions, personal preference, not cultural consensus, not what's trending on social media. Truth. The Greek word translated "true" is alethase, alethase. It carries the idea of that which is real, that which is genuine, that which is unconcealed, which is reliable. It's the polar opposite of what is false, what is fake, distorted or deceptive.

Paul is saying give your mind to what is real, give your mind to what is actually so. Give your mind to what corresponds to reality as God defines reality. You remember the two messages I preached about speaking the truth in love? It might be helpful to listen to those again. We discussed truth at length in those messages. We live in a world drowning in stuff that's not real and not truth as we are defining it here or as we define it in those two messages. In fact, Jared and I were recently, just recently discussing how much more difficult it is to determine what's real nowadays.

Artificial intelligence as it's called, or AI for short, can be an incredible tool if used properly, but it can also really blur the lines between what's real and what's not, between what's true and what's false. It's getting harder and harder to look at a photograph or a video and know whether the people in it are real or an AI creation. I've often said that the paradox of our time is that we have more information available to us, literally at the tips of our fingertips, than at any other time in history. While at the same time it's harder to determine what's real or true than at any time in the history of the world.

So Paul's admonition here is more important than ever, but the world ignores it. People live by their feelings and call it authenticity. They live by appetites and call it freedom. They live by self-expression and call it identity. They live by outrage and call it passion. And into that world, or rather into this world, Paul says to the Christian, "Whatever is true, consider these things." That means the Christian mind must be trained to live in reality as God defines it. Not as the flesh feels it, not as the world spins it, not as the devil distorts it.

In fact, Christians are to take what the world gives us and run it through the filter of what God says is true. The filter of objective truth. Now that may sound obvious, but it's not how we naturally think or behave. Left to ourselves, we dwell more on what might happen than on what God said already did happen and what He said will certainly happen. We dwell more on what we feel than on what is true. We rehearse fears that haven't come to pass. Accusations that may not be fair. Suspicions we can't prove. Fantasies that aren't real. And lies that are convenient to our flesh. And the problem isn't merely that those thoughts are unpleasant.

The problem is they ain't true. They're not worthy of, they're not worthy furniture for the Christian mind. That's why this first category is so important. Listen, when anxiety says God has forgotten me, that's not true. When bitterness says I have the right to hold this against them, that's not true. When lust says this will satisfy me, not true. When envy says God has been better to them than He has been to me, that is not true. When shame says to you that when you sin, Christ can't forgive me, that's not true.

When pride says you are strong enough without prayer, without scripture, without accountability, without the church, that is not true. And church, the Christian is not permitted to furnish his or her mind with lies even if those lies feel overwhelming in the moment. And get this, the fact that a thought feels strong or overwhelming doesn't mean it's true. The fact that a thought comes with emotion doesn't mean it has authority. The fact that a thought has been with you for years doesn't mean it has the right to stay. Paul says whatever is true, consider these things. So if we want to train our minds in truth, where do we begin?

Not with our feelings, not with the news, not with our fears, not with our own internal commentary. We begin with the Word of God. That's what trains the mind in truth, the Word of God. Psalm 119, verse 160 says, "The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments is everlasting." The sum of God's Word, what all of His words add up to, is truth. And our Lord praying to the Father in John 17, verse 17 says, "Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth." His Word is truth. So we begin there. We begin with what God has said. Think on what's true. Think on the truth that God is sovereign.

Think on the truth that Christ is sufficient. Think on the truth that sin is worse than the world says it is. Think on the truth that grace is greater than we can even fathom. Think on the truth that Christ died for the ungodly. Think on the truth that He rose bodily from the grave. Think on the truth that every promise of God is yes in Christ. Think on the truth that this world is passing away. Think on the truth that your life is a vapor. Think on the truth that eternity is real. And think on the truth that Christ is coming again. That's not escapism. That's sanity. That's truth.

The world says, "Be realistic." But they leave God out of reality. Listen, the most realistic person in this room, the most realistic person in this room, is the one whose mind is most governed by what God has said. So when our minds begin to drift into fear, suspicion, lust, resentment, fantasy, despair, self-pity, we ask ourselves, "Is it true?" Not, "Does this feel true?" Not, "Does it soothe my flesh?" Not, "Does it justify my attitude?" But, "Is this true according to God and His Word?" And if it's not true, it doesn't belong in the room. Chunk it. Throw it out. Whatever is true, consider these things. Number two, whatever is dignified.

Whatever is dignified. Some translations have honorable. The KJV has honest, but the LSB renders it dignified. The Greek word is "simnos," "simnos" or "simnos." I never know how to deal with those syllables. It means dignified, honorable, noble, weighty, worthy of reverence, the idea of moral seriousness. And this same word shows up elsewhere in Paul's letters, listen, as a character qualification for those who lead and model life in the church. We've been going through a Deacon nomination process, so this will sound familiar. 1 Timothy 3, 8.

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain. In verse 11, women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. And over in Titus chapter 2, verse 2, older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Same word three times. Deacons, women in the church, older men, dignified, weighty, morally serious. That's the texture of Christian character. Now hear me, this is not gloominess. It's not a sour personality. It's not a long-faced, never-smiling kind of seriousness.

That's not what Paul's describing here. Paul means weight, substance, gravity, the opposite of what is cheap, silly, flippant, shallow, or spiritually weightless. That's a very important concept in the day we live, because we live in an age that's amusing itself to death. Everything has to be funny. Everything has to be turned into a meme. Everything has to be reduced to a joke, a punchline, a hot take, a 30-second reel. And look, I'm not against humor. I love a good laugh. The Bible's not against joy.

The first half of Proverbs 17, 22 says, "A glad heart is good medicine." The KJV renders it, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Ecclesiastes tells us there's a time to laugh, but there's also such a thing as a trivial soul, a mind so addicted to amusement it no longer knows how to be serious before God. A Christian mind shouldn't be a junk drawer full of jokes, headlines, outrage, gossip, and digital noise. There ought to be weight in it, space for eternity, room for judgment, room for glory, room for holiness, room for sorrow over sin, room for the fear of the Lord.

The fear of God gives a man gravity, a weightiness that fortifies him against frivolity. The fear of God puts weight in your words, steadiness in your conduct, seriousness in your soul. Not because we've lost joy, but because we've learned that we live every moment before the face of God. The fear of God, that's what gives a soul weight, and it makes us wise, right? You want to be made wise and have some weightiness in your thought life? Think on the omnipotence of God, the fact that he has all power. He never grows weary. Indeed, he never even expends any energy and needs to recharge. Think on the omnipresence of God.

He's not some far-off deity, but he's everywhere present at all times. And he's not mostly in one place and a little bit in another. He's not spread thin across the universe as Bilbo Baggins might say, sort of stretched like butter scraped over too much bread. No, he is in every square inch of the universe in his concentrated fullness at every moment, including now. Proverbs 15, 3 reminds us that the eyes of Yahweh are in every place watching the evil and the good. Think on the omniscience of God, that he knows all things, all at once in every moment.

He never has to remember anything to pause and reach back in his memory banks to try and recall a thought he had once before. No, he knows everything all at once. He knows all about you, everything about you, every thought you've ever had or ever will have. Think on that for a while. Then think on the absolute fact that final judgment is coming. That'll sober you up right quick. Whatever is dignified, consider these things. No. 3, whatever is right, whatever is right. The word translated right here is decaos. Decaos. It means righteous, just, upright, conforming to the standard of what God says is right.

Not what feels fair to me, not what society currently approves, not what seems reasonable to fallen man, what stands straight according to the plumb line of God's righteousness, God's own measure of straightness, and what stands straight stands straight only because God says so. We need the Lord's plumb line because sin doesn't always present itself as sin. Sometimes sin is sneaky. Sometimes bitterness presents itself as discernment. Cowardice sometimes pretends to be prudence or caution. Compromise often, at first glance at least, looks like kindness or just being cooperative. Worldliness can present itself as relevance.

And sometimes gossip comes disguised as a prayer request. Isaiah saw it coming. In Isaiah 5, verse 20, he says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." That word "woe" there is a doozy. It's a divine warning. And the warning is necessary because we do this. The heart of flesh calls evil good and good evil and feels just fine doing it. Solomon said the same thing, and he said it twice in case we missed it.

Proverbs 14, verse 12, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Then again in Proverbs 16, 25, same words, "The Holy Spirit had Solomon write it twice," two chapters apart because we need to hear it twice. So Paul says, "Whatever is right, consider these things. Not whatever is convenient, not what's popular, whatever lets us win the argument, whatever protects our pride, not whatever is comfortable, whatever is right." And this is where Christian thinking must again be governed by God's Word.

We must learn to ask, "What does God call right?" Not, "What will make me look right?" Not, "What will make me feel right?" Not, "But what is right according to the Lord?" Follow man is very skilled at justifying himself. Christians can be too if we aren't very careful. We can be defense attorneys for our own sin. We can build entire legal arguments in our own heads to defend the attitudes and actions that God plainly condemns. We can rehearse another person's failures until our bitterness feels righteous. We can magnify our wounds until our lack of forgiveness feels reasonable. But we have a fourfold protection against that.

First, Christ is interceding for us right this very minute. Second, the Holy Spirit is ever-present to convict us. Third, we have each other in the church for accountability and encouragement. And fourth, we have the sure Word of God to guide us. The Christian mind doesn't have to figure out what's right. We simply must submit to what God has said is right. And that's found in the pages of Scripture. Whatever is right, consider these things. Number four, whatever is pure, whatever is pure. The word here translated pure is hagnose. Hagnose, actually hagnose. It means clean, undefiled, morally unstained, free from pollution.

The opposite of what is filthy, sensual, corrupt, or contaminated by sin. David asked a question in Psalm 24, verses 3 and 4, which Jared walked us through on a recent Wednesday evening. "Who may ascend into the mountain of Yahweh, and who may rise in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." Clean hands, pure heart. "And our Lord Himself said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, verse 8, 'The opposite of the pure in heart, for they shall see God.'" Now, we all know that the opposite of whatever is pure is everywhere. Impurity is not hidden in the shadows anymore. It's advertised. It's celebrated. It's streamed online.

It's normalized. It's defended as freedom and free expression. And those devices we carry in our pockets have made impurity more accessible than any previous generation in history could have possibly imagined. But a pure mind isn't merely a mind that avoids pornographic filth. It's a mind that hates corruption of all kinds and loves cleanness before God. The pure mind refuses lust, yes, but it also refuses corrupt motives. It refuses secret envy. It refuses cherished resentment.

It refuses the inward compromise that whispers, "I can keep this little corner for myself." So, Christians, we can't obey Philippians 4-8 while making peace with impurity in the mind. We cannot say, "I'm thinking of whatever is pure," while feeding our imaginations on entertainment that trains us to laugh at what God condemns. We cannot say it while allowing the mind to become a private theater for sin that we would never participate in or confess publicly. Christ bought the whole person, body and soul, mind and heart, public and private, seen and unseen. Mark this now. Some of us need to stop managing impurity and start killing it.

In Romans 8, verse 13, Paul says, "For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the practices of the body, you will live." Putting to death the practices of the body. That's the language. Not managing, not negotiating, putting to death, killing it. Colossians 3, verse 5 says, "Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry." So, sir, ma'am, stop calling it a struggle while secretly keeping it alive. Stop saying it's not hurting anybody. It is hurting somebody. It's hurting you at least.

It's shaping you. It's grieving the Spirit. It's dishonoring Christ and minimizing sin. It's searing your conscience. Whatever is pure, consider these things. Number 5, whatever is lovely, whatever is lovely. The word here is prosphiles. It means pleasing, winsome, beautiful, attractive in a morally wholesome way. It refers to that which calls forth proper affection. Not sinful attraction, but right affection.

Paul doesn't merely say, "Think on what's true, dignified, right, and pure, as though the Christian mind is an armored bunker only good for keeping things out." He says, "Think on what is lovely." That means the Christian mind should be drawn toward beauty. Not worldly beauty, detached from God, but real beauty as God defines it. And that's helpful to us because sometimes Christians can become very good at rejecting what is bad, but very poor at loving what is beautiful. We might know how to say no. We might know how to point out what's wrong. And we should. The sermon is good.

But if the Christian mind only knows how to reject and never knows how to admire, to rejoice, to delight, to worship, then something is off and something is missing. Listen to this quote from Charles Spurgeon from his sermon entitled "The Beauty of the Olive Tree." Quote, "Things of beauty were evidently intended to be gazed upon. God created beauty on purpose that it might enchain our eyes, rivet our attention, and command our thoughts, whether it be the beauty of a tree or the beauty of a man," and in context he was talking about the faithful service of a particular man.

"Whether it be the beauty of a tree or the beauty of a man, it was meant to be a joy forever, and this it cannot be if it is left unnoticed. Beautiful objects are intended to be thought upon and spoken of." Close quote. God created loveliness and we should notice, we should think about how lovely it really is and speak of the loveliness. You know what else is lovely? Listen to David in Psalm 27, verse 4.

"One thing I have asked from Yahweh that I shall seek, that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Yahweh and to inquire in His temple." One thing, to behold the beauty of the Lord, that was David's great pursuit. So the Christian mind learns to love what God calls lovely. There's loveliness in flowers and trees and streams and puppies and babies and more, all of which He created for us to enjoy and praise Him for. And there's also loveliness in mercy.

There's loveliness in forgiveness, in humility, in a quiet act of service nobody else sees, in a husband tenderly loving his wife and a wife strengthening her husband with grace. There's loveliness in an older saint who has suffered deeply and still speaks well of Christ, in a Bible that's worn out from use. And there's loveliness in a sinner coming to Christ. Luke 15, verse 10 says, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The Christian mind ought to live there, dwell on such things. Not because we're pretending the world can't be ugly. The world is ugly in many ways. Sin is ugly. Death is ugly.

Hell is real. Judgment is real. We're not pretending any of that away. But ugliness does not get the final word in the Christian mind. So let me ask a hard question. Has our mind been trained only to notice what's ugly? Some people can spot everything wrong in a room and nothing gracious. Everything wrong in their spouse and nothing lovely. Everything wrong in the world and nothing that points to God's goodness. That's not discernment. That's disobedience. It's disobedience. Train the mind to notice grace. Train it to see mercy. Train it to admire holiness. Train it to rejoice in quiet faithfulness.

Train it to observe what is lovely in every scene and in every scenario. Whatever is lovely, consider these things. Number six, whatever is commendable. Whatever is commendable. The word here is euphemos. Euphemos. It means well spoken of, admirable, reputable, worthy of approval. What is fit to be spoken of with honor. We've got to be careful here. Paul doesn't mean think on whatever the world applauds. Because the world applauds many things that God hates. So commendable doesn't mean approved by the culture. It means commendable before God. Remember Pastor Chris' sermon last week from Hebrews 11?

Verse 39 tells us that everyone mentioned in that chapter were commended for their faith. In other words, they were commendable in God's sight, not the world's. First Samuel 16, 7, when Samuel went to anoint a king from the sons of Jesse, he saw the older brother and figured he must be the one. And the Lord said to him, "God sees not as a man sees, for a man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." God looks at the heart. That's where the commendable originates. In Galatians 1, verse 10, Paul says, "For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I wouldn't be a slave of Christ." Paul's question is the right answer for us. Whose approval are we seeking? The world's or God's? Because there are things people admire that heaven doesn't admire. There are things heaven commends that the world barely notices or outright rejects and condemns. The world may admire power. God commends meekness. The world may admire revenge. God commends forgiveness. The world may admire success. God commends faithfulness. The world may admire outward beauty, money, and influence. God commends inward beauty, obedience, mercy, love. The world promotes pride.

God honors humility. So the Christian mind must be trained to admire what God admires, what is commended by Him and commendable to Him. Ask yourself these questions. What impresses us? What kind of person do we secretly wish we were? How about this? What qualities do we praise in our children? What kind of life seems blessed to us? Those questions reveal a lot about what our minds have been trained to find commendable.

Paul drives the point home in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 18, which reads, "For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends." Not self-commendation, not crowd-commendation, the Lord's commendation. Whatever is commendable, consider these things. Number 7, if there is any excellence, if there is any excellence, the word is arate, arate. Moral excellence, virtue, goodness, praiseworthy quality, the opposite of what is base, lazy, degraded, and morally cheap. Peter uses this exact word, arate, in 2 Peter 1, verses 5 through 7.

Listen to what he says, "Now for this reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith, supply moral excellence." There's the word. "And in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." It's like a ladder. Faith on the bottom, and on top of faith, supply moral excellence. And on top of that excellence, knowledge, and up and up. Moral excellence isn't the destination, it's a step on the climb. And Paul will not let the Christian mind live on the lowest shelf.

He calls us upward to a life of the mind that climbs a ladder rather than crawling under a table. And that's helpful because many Christians ask the wrong questions entirely. We ask, "Is it really sinful? Can I get away with it? Where exactly is the line that I'm not supposed to cross? How far can I go before it becomes a problem?" Those are bad questions. They aim too low. They're the questions of a person trying to figure out how close he can stand to the edge of a cliff without falling off. Philippians 4.8 teaches us to ask better questions.

Not, "Is this really sinful?" but, "Is this excellent?" Not, "Will this really destroy me?" but, "Will this strengthen me?" Not, "Can I do this without crossing the line?" but, "Is it really worthy of a blood-bought mind?" That changes things, huh? There are many things that may not be the worst possible thing we could do, but they're not excellent. They don't lift the mind. They don't strengthen faith. They don't deepen our love for Christ. They simply occupy space or worse. And space in the mind is not cheap real estate. What occupies the mind shapes the life, as we discussed at length in Part 1 of this message.

Remember what Paul said in Colossians 3, Verses 1 and 2, "Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth." Close quote. "Keep seeking the things above." Set your mind on things above. That's a complementary verse to Philippians 4.8. Same apostle, same instruction. Set the mind upward. Lift the mind higher. If there's any excellence, consider these things. Number 8, "If anything worthy of praise." If anything worthy of praise. What is truly worthy of praise?

There's no way I can say this. Epi-enos. That's wrong. But it's close. "Not what flatters the flesh, not what impresses the world, not what trends for a day and disappears tomorrow, not what draws clicks or likes or money or envy or applause. What is worthy of praise before God?" That's the question. For the sake of time, let me rattle off some verses where we can find some things that God defines as worthy of praise. This is not an exhaustive list. Faith, of course, throughout Hebrews 11. Faithful service with right motives. Matthew 25, 21. 1 Corinthians 4, 5. Luke 19, 17. "Perseverance under trial." James 1, 12.

"Suffering for Christ's name." Matthew 5, 11, 12. 1 Peter 4, 4. "And gospel labor and fruitfulness." 2 Corinthians 8, 18. Philippians 1, 11 in the whole chapter of Romans 16. And of course, David gives us the ultimate answer in Psalm 145 verse 3. "Great is Yahweh and highly to be praised." His greatness is unsearchable. Then Psalm 150, the very last Psalm, the closing note of the whole Psalter ends in verse 6 with this command. "Let everything that has breath praise Yah." Praise Yah. Everything that has breath. If we're breathing this morning, we have an obligation to praise that which is most worthy of praise.

And the Christian mind ought to be a place where praise is ever present. Not because every providence of God is pleasant. Not because life is painless. But because we are commanded to praise the one from whom all blessings flow. If anything worthy of praise, consider these things. Finally, number 9. All of these things are found in Christ. All of these things are found in Christ. So far we've walked through Paul's list one step at a time. We've studied each category, whatever is true, dignified, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. These are the things Paul commands us to consider.

We are commanded to think on these things, to keep our mind focused on these things. Who can do that? Who in this room can claim a mind furnished top to bottom, wall to wall with what's true, dignified, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise? Not me, boy. Not even close. I'm better at it than I once was by His grace, but I'm not there. So is Paul being cruel? Is he stacking up a checklist designed to crush us under impossibilities? No, because Paul isn't handing us a list of pleasant ideas floating out in the air. He's leading us to a place. He's leading us to a person. Where do all these things meet?

Where do they live? Where do they find their fullest beauty, their fullest reality, their fullest expression? The answer, of course, is the same answer to many of the questions that matter in the Bible. The answer is Jesus Christ. Hear me now. Listen closely. Christ is true. In John 14, verse 6, Christ says, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." He's not merely a speaker of truth. He's the truth Himself. The full and final revelation of God.

John 1, verse 14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. He is true. Think on Him. Christ is also dignified. The eternal Son of God, the radiance of the Father's glory, the one before whom demons tremble and angels worship. Standing before Pilate, He is dignified. Hanging on the cross, mocked, bloodied, publicly humiliated. He is still the King. His dignity isn't pride. His dignity is glory.

Hebrews 1, verse 3 says, "He is the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of His nature." And one day, Philippians 2 says, "At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." He is dignified. Think on Him. Next, Christ is right. The righteous one. Never a single crooked motive. Never one impure thought. He loved what was right. He hated what was evil. He fulfilled all righteousness. And then, wonder of wonders, He went to the cross not for His unrighteousness, but for ours.

Second Corinthians 5, verse 21 says that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Romans 5, verse 19 says, "Through the obedience of the One, the many will be appointed righteous." He is right. Think on Him. Christ is also pure, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners. He touched lepers without becoming unclean. In fact, He made them clean. He made dead men alive. He moved among sinners without sharing their sin. Hebrews 4, 15 tells us He was tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.

First John 3, verse 5 says, "He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin." First Peter 2, verse 22 describes Him as the one who "who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth." He is pure. Think on Him. Christ is also lovely. Not a sentimental prettiness, not the airbrushed Jesus of bad religious art. No, the moral and spiritual beauty of the only Son of God. He is the fairest of ten thousand. The lily of the valley, the bright and morning star. Lovely in His compassion toward the weak. Lovely in His tenderness toward broken sinners. Lovely in His tears at Lazarus' tomb.

Lovely in His prayer for His murderers. Lovely in His blood shed for the guilty. Lovely in His risen glory. He is lovely. Think on Him. Christ is also highly commendable. At His baptism, the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." At the transfiguration, the Father commanded, "Listen to Him." The Son is the perfectly commendable man. The Father's full approval rests on Him. He is commendable. Think on Him. Christ is also excellent. Excellent in His person. Excellent in His obedience. In His sacrifice. In His glory. Excellent in His offices as prophet, priest and king. Excellent in His humiliation.

In His exaltation. In His finished work. Excellent in His coming kingdom. Hebrews 1, verse 4 says that Jesus has become so much better than the angels. And He has inherited a more excellent name than they. In Hebrews 8, verse 6 says He has obtained a more excellent ministry as the mediator of a better covenant. He is excellent. Think on Him. And finally, He is worthy of all praise. Listen to Revelation chapter 5. Jared feels like he's getting all these call outs, but he reminded us of this not long ago. "The scroll is sealed. No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth is found worthy to open it. John weeps. Then the Lamb appears.

The Lamb that was slain. Then a chorus breaks out. Revelation 5, verse 9. Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals because you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And then the angels join in in verse 12. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

Christ is worthy, glory, worthy of trust, worthy of praise, worthy of love, worthy of obedience, worthy of worship, worthy of our minds, worthy of our devotion, worthy of our entire lives, worthy from all eternity past and for all eternity future." Think on Him. Now do you see, church, what Paul's been doing all along? He gave us a list of eight things, but they were never just eight things. They were always eight things pointing to one person. The Scottish expositor Alexander McLaren saw it. He was a contemporary Spurgeon. I'd never heard of him before, but I'm going to have to look him up more. And he said it better than I could.

He said, "All these things, true, venerable, just, pure, lovely and of good report, are not things only. They are embodied in a person." Embodied in a person. They're not floating concepts. They have a face. They have a name. They have hands and feet with nail scars in them. And McLaren goes on, "For whatever things are fair, meet in Jesus Christ, and He in His living self is the sum of all virtue and of all praise." Close quote. The sum of all virtue. The sum of all praise. All virtue adds up to Christ. All praise adds up to Him. Hallelujah.

So the highest and fullest way to obey Philippians 4.8, mark this church, is not merely to think about nice things or clean things. The highest way to obey Philippians 4.8 is to think on these things as they are revealed and ultimately displayed in the person of Jesus Christ. Because in Him all eight categories meet in their fullest expression. So as we conclude, step back with me just a moment. Thinking back to part one, if the Christian mind must be disciplined, it must also be furnished. It's not enough to sweep the room. It must be filled. Not with noise, fantasy, outrage, lust. Not with resentment. Not with vanity. Not with fear.

It must be filled with what God wants in there. What God considers worthy of our thoughts. And the fullest display and expression of everything worthy is Christ Himself. So don't treat Philippians 4.8 like a sentimental call to think happy thoughts. That's far too small. That's throw pillow theology. That's hobby lobby exegesis. Paul is calling the believer to a deliberate, disciplined, Christ-centered life of the mind. Take inventory. What's in the inner room of your mind? Examine what's sitting in the chairs. Look what's hanging on the walls. Notice what's lying around on the tables. What have you allowed to move in and to live there?

And then by the grace of God, purposefully start refinishing the room. Ladies, do you find yourself dwelling on your husband's shortcomings? Do you rehearse in your minds all the things he never gets done, or all the things he does that irks you, or the things his mother said to you, or the things your siblings have done to hurt you? Men, do you find your mind constantly drawn toward things your lust prefers? Or do you constantly rehearse the ways in which your wife disappoints you, or your children disappoint you, or your coworkers or boss irritate you, or have abused you? Well, now you're armed to fight that.

Now you have tools to counteract that, to redirect your mind. Maybe you do need Philippians 4a on a coffee mug, or a pillow, or a plaque, or even just on a piece of paper in the front of your Bible to remind you to think on these things instead. Above all, set Christ as the centerpiece of your mind's eye. Christ who is true. Christ who is dignified. Christ who is right. Christ who is pure. Christ who is lovely. Christ who is commendable. Christ who is excellent. Christ who is worthy of all praise. So think on these things. That is, think on Him. The answer to a pearly furnished mind is not despair. The answer is repentance and grace.

The God who commands us to consider these things is the same God who works in His people, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. He doesn't leave us alone with an impossible command. He provides for the very thing He commands. So bring to Him the room of your mind. Bring Him the clutter. Bring Him the filth. Bring Him the fear. Bring Him the bitterness. Bring Him the secret things. Yes, even those. And ask Him by His Spirit to teach you to think as one with a Christian mind ought to think. And if you're here this morning and you are not in Christ, then friend, listen carefully. You need more than a disciplined mind.

You need a new heart. Without Christ, you have nothing to look forward to but fiery judgment and eternal torment, which is what we all deserve. You can't think as a Christian if you've not first become one. You cannot furnish the mind with holy things while the heart remains dead in sin. The room itself is condemned. But Christ is merciful. Christ saves sinners. He cleanses the impure. He forgives the guilty. He gives life to the dead. He grants repentance and faith. So come to Him. Turn from your sin. Trust in Him. He is worthy. Finally, do you lack peace, believer?

Isaiah 26.3 says, "You keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you." In other words, whose mind is focused on Christ, considers Christ, thinks on Christ. Let's pray.