Of the Same Mind

I want to start with the same mental image as last week. Imagine St. Paul. He’s an old man and under house arrest in Rome. He will appear before Caesar to plead his case any day now, and he doesn’t know whether he will live or die after that appeal. So, between having time on his hands and thinking about the end of his life, he is writing to the churches he established. And the letter we are particularly interested in today (and for the next few weeks) is the one addressed to the church at Philippi.

As Paul writes to the Philippians, he knows the struggle and sacrifice that went into sharing the gospel with them. He knows what he went through, but more importantly, he knows that Jesus suffered, died, and rose to save those people from sin and death. He doesn’t want them to lose that message. He doesn’t want them to lose a treasure so dearly bought! And, he doesn’t want all this work to fade away when he’s gone.

So he wrote in his letter, “if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, …” In other words, “If this message of the gospel meant anything …” “… complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”

“Complete my joy.” Show me that this message of Christ crucified and risen has taken root among you. How? By being of the same mind. Having the same love. Being in full accord and of one mind.

Let’s unpack those things.

First: Being of the same mind.

Max Lucado once wrote, “When fishermen don’t fish, they fight.” His point was that unity is found in a common purpose, a common mission. That purpose or mission flows from what people think and what they value. In sports, the team knows that scoring more points and playing better defense leads to making it to the playoffs and having a chance to win a championship.

Here in the church, what unites us? We have the mind of Christ. That is the mind we want to have in each of us – thinking about and valuing what He thought and valued. So we look at Jesus’ message. He says, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He says that God’s rule and reign has come among us, and we see that kingdom at work when God is redeeming sinful people like you and me. The clearest picture of the mind of Christ and the kingdom of heaven is the Cross. It was there that, “for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame,” because there He atoned for the sins of the world.

This message is what is central in our minds! Christ came for sinners! Which means that Christ came for us. This is why we do what we do: worship, funerals, baptisms, teaching Bible studies… All of it goes back to the belief that Jesus died for me. But Jesus did not die for just you and me: He died for the sins of the world. That means that our minds are united in the desire for that message to go out so people can have the hope, forgiveness, and salvation that we cherish. As John wrote, “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Go, and that, by believing, you may have life in His name. “For there is no other name, given under heaven, … by which we must be saved,” than the name of Jesus.

Our minds are united in Jesus’ mission – the salvation of souls. This drives what we do, what we prioritize, how we live, as well as how and what we give – time and talents, as well as treasure. (Or, at least it should.)

Paul says we should have the same love. This is a specific kind of love called agapé. It is a selfless love that desires God’s best for others. So, what is God’s best? In 1 John, the apostle writes, “This is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as a propitiation (that is, an atoning sacrifice) for our sins.” A few weeks ago, I preached on Psalm 37, which says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” God’s best is reconciliation to Him through Jesus. God’s best is what Romans calls justification: being made right with God through Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s best is finding people who are dead in their trespasses and sins, and making them alive in Christ.

When Paul says he wants us to have the same love, this is the love he is talking about. It’s Jesus’ love received by you. It’s also Jesus’ love delivered through you to others.

Paul also says he wants the Philippians – and us – to be in full accord and of one mind. Literally, this says that we should be unified in spirit.

When I was in high school we used to do this chant at the basketball games, “We’ve got spirit, yes, we do! We’ve got spirit, how about you?” We were saying that we had enthusiasm for our team. We were committed to our school. We invested ourselves in who won our lost, because our itendity was wrapped up with what it meant to be a Manistee Chippewa … or Hudson Explorer … or Stow Bulldog … or your school and mascot.

To be unified in spirit is to confess, “I am a Christian! My life is rooted in the Cross. My hope is in Jesus who was crucified and raised for me.” It also means that we seek to display the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control… because we know these things were what we were created and redeemed for!

Being unified in spirit is also to say, “I am a member of my congregation.” Christians don’t walk alone. We gather. So we gather here at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. We love this place because this is where we receive Jesus’ gifts. We love these people because we have fellowship in Jesus and the hope we have because He died and rose for us. We love our doctrine – the teaching of God’s Word – because we recognize that things like the Small Catechism help us understand God’s Word more fully and deeply. We love our mission: Gathering People to Christ, Building Believers in Christ, Serving the World as Christ.

Let’s be of the same mind. The kingdom has come and we live in God’s grace. Have the same love, because the love of God in Christ Jesus is yours! Be united in Spirit, gladly confessing, “I am a Christian, and I love my church.”

So, this is what I am asking of you today. I want you to spend some time thinking about how we can be of one mind as we support the work of the church. Some of this deals with time and volunteering. But to be completely upfront with you, for right now, we’re mostly thinking about the financial side of support. Please take some time to pray about what you give to support the ministry here. Please pledge. Your pledge is confidential, and the way we use that information is to help us plan our budget for next year. It helps us be intentional as we consider our work for the kingdom of heaven.

Giving is important because it is part of the unity we have as we act together and sacrifice together to help make sure that the message of Jesus’ salvation is proclaimed to our generation and beyond. Amen.