Matt Barber
Look at your life. Life is hard. Look at the
news. In our fallen, sinful world, evil swirls
about like a violent dust devil, clouding the
air of absolute truth and muddying the
waters of pure grace that flow to eternal life
through Christ Jesus.
It seems the world has gone mad, and it has.
Relativism rules as up is down, black is white
and that which God calls evil is called good.
All forms of sexual immorality are celebrated
and deceptively tagged “human rights,” while
God’s design for marriage, family and
sexuality, along with true human rights, are
systematically trampled to accommodate
disorder and sin. Innocent children are
slaughtered at will in the safety of their
mothers’ wombs, while demonic political
systems rooted in the pagan traditions of
Islam and secular humanism stack the bodies
of tens-of-millions like cordwood.
The enemy is enraged because his time is
short.
Yet through it all, and in His infinite mercy
and grace, God gives us a taste of things to
come.
In biblical terms, the number 8 represents a
new beginning with God. It signifies man’s
covenantal relationship with his Creator
through the physical act of circumcision,
which, in the Jewish tradition, is performed
on the male child’s eighth day. For the
Christian, whether Jew or Gentile, we
undergo a “circumcision of the heart”
through belief upon, communion with and
worship of Jesus, the God-man.
That’s why I believe the Holy Spirit, through
the Apostle Paul, gave mankind eight specific
things to “think about” so that “the God of
peace will be with you.” There can be peace
in the eye of storm – a “new beginning” each
day – and that peace is Christ with us.
Said Paul: “Finally, brothers and sisters,
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” (Philippians 4:8).
1) Whatever is true
The opposite of true is the lie. Truth is fixed.
Truth is objective. Moral relativism fosters
the absurd notion that truth is malleable and
subjective. Therefore, relativism is a lie. But,
as Pilate asked Christ, “What is truth?” God’s
created order, His natural law, is truth. The
Bible is God’s word. The Bible is truth. It is
called “the word of truth. “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus
Himself is truth. He says, “I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Immerse yourself in the word of God and you
cannot help but “think about” truth.
2) Whatever is noble
Merriam Webster defines “noble” as “having,
showing, or coming from personal qualities
that people admire (such as honesty,
generosity, courage, etc.).” We know noble
when we see it. We see it in the teenage boy
who returns the cash-flush wallet to the lost
and found. We see it in the philanthropist
who anonymously and generously gives to the
widow and the poor – to “the least of these.”
We see it in the men and women who serve
so that we may enjoy freedom. We especially
see it in the soldier, in anyone, who lays
down his life so that others may live.
3) Whatever is right
There is right and wrong. Right is correct.
Wrong is incorrect. Love, true love, which
derives from love Himself, is right. Hate is
wrong. Right stems from truth and grace.
Wrong stems from the lie, enmity and
ruthlessness. Right is to forgive others so that
we may be forgiven. Wrong is to resent,
begrudge and refuse to forgive. Right is the
exclusivity of Christ. Wrong is the
“inclusivity” of religious pluralism. Right
comes from God the Father. Wrong comes
from the father of lies.
4) Whatever is pure
“Pure” is that which is “free from what
vitiates, weakens, or pollutes: containing
nothing that does not properly belong.”
Chastity is pure. Fornication is impure.
Fidelity to one’s spouse and the faithful
marriage bed is pure. Adultery is impure.
True marriage is pure. Counterfeit same-sex
“marriage” is “vitiated, weakened and
polluted” by sexual immorality and is,
therefore, impure. Contentment is pure.
Covetousness is impure. Selflessness, when
harmonized with and motivated by God’s
moral truths, is pure. Selfishness is impure.
Jesus is pure. We are impure. True
Christianity is pure. Apostate “Christianity”
and other false religions that deny Christ and
the truth of His word are impure.
5) Whatever is lovely
“Lovely” is defined as “attractive or beautiful,
especially in a graceful way.” Outward
beauty can be lovely. Inward beauty that
derives from the Holy Spirit is always lovely.
The creative arts are lovely, especially when
motivated by a desire to serve, honor and
glorify the Creator. Handle’s Messiah is
lovely. The Sistine Chapel is lovely. God’s
nature, creation and created order is lovely.
My beautiful wife and daughters are lovely,
inside and out.
6) Whatever is admirable
That which is “admirable” is “worthy of
admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or
affection.” The whole of God’s creation, save
those aspects corrupted by sin, is admirable.
Our Creator God is beyond admirable and
worthy of infinite wonder, praise and
worship. Unfortunately, in our sinful nature,
we often admire things that fall well short of
admirable. We “think about” things
anathema to those eight given us by Paul.
7) Whatever is excellent
Excellence means “of extremely high quality.”
We are told to not only think about that
which is excellent, but to strive for excellence
in all we do. “Whatever your hand finds to
do, do it with all your might. …” (Ecclesiastes
9:10)We also know excellence when we see it.
Michael Jordan was excellent. Legendary jazz
drummer Buddy Rich was excellent. The rib-
eye at Ruth’s Chris is excellent. President
Obama’s leadership and policies – economic,
social, and national security-related, both
foreign and domestic – are decidedly not
excellent.
8) Whatever is praiseworthy
Finally, Webster’s defines “praiseworthy” as
“laudable: deserving praise: worthy of
praise.” The previous seven things Paul gives
us to “think about” are also praiseworthy.
They are laudable. That which is true, noble,
right, pure, lovely, admirable and excellent, is
also praiseworthy.
Do you see what Paul did here – what the
Holy Spirit did through Paul? He gave us eight
things to “think about.” Does anything in
particularly strike you about these eight
things?
They are eight in One.
Each of these eight things represents a
specific character trait of Christ Himself.
Jesus is true. Jesus is noble. Jesus is right.
Jesus is pure. Jesus is lovely. Jesus is
admirable. Jesus is excellent and, finally,
perhaps most importantly, Jesus is infinitely
and eternally praiseworthy.
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