Settling for Nothing But Excellence
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Settling for Nothing
But Excellence
--------------- Date: 03/27/1999
Keywords: "blameless" "excellence" "sincerity"
Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in
the face of sexual temptation.
Passage: Philippians
1:10*
so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to
be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ
Questions
1. When Paul prays that Christians would "approve the things
that are excellent" our minds wander to the theme of excellence. What comes to your
mind when you think of excellence in the world of basketball? of entertainment? of
politics? of military strength?
2. What arena of life do you think Paul has in mind when he mentions
excellence in this verse?
3. According to this verse, what is the outcome of approving
excellent things?
Practical help
Paul prayed that Christians would approve the things that are
excellent. We should pray the same prayer! There is a lot at stake in doing so. The
excellence Paul had in mind was the excellence of moral purity and integrity.
When believers nod approvingly at morally excellent things - truth, beauty, love, faith -
the results are overwhelmingly positive. We end up becoming genuinely sincere and we keep
ourselves blameless (pure) until we see Jesus. However, when a Christian nods his approval
at pornography (which may represent excellence in technology but not excellence in
purity), the opposite occurs. We become increasingly insincere as we say one thing and do
another.
The course to follow is to pray the prayer of Philippians 1:10 and then put feet to that
prayer. Nod approvingly and participate only in those things that are morally excellent.
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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright
The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by
permission."