Stop Complaining (Philippians 2:14-16)
This study companion delves into a sermon that confronts the pervasive issue of complaining, both in society and among believers. It challenges us to examine our attitudes toward life's circumstances and God's sovereign hand.
This sermon calls believers to obey God without grumbling or disputing, revealing complaining as a deep-seated spiritual problem rooted in a failure to trust God and submit to His sovereign will. It highlights how God severely judges such discontent.
Overview
The sermon begins by focusing on Philippians 2:14, which commands doing all things without grumbling or disputing. The preacher observes that society, particularly younger generations, exhibits widespread discontent and a complaining attitude. He references a sociologist's theory that small, indulgent families foster selfish children who expect systems to bend to them, leading to adults who postpone responsibility and become chronic complainers.
This complaining spirit, the sermon argues, has infiltrated the church, with some leaving over minor dissatisfactions. The preacher asserts that complaining is an ugly sin to God, often blaming Him for circumstances. He traces this sin's long history from Adam's first complaint against God to various examples in the Old Testament, where figures like Cain, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and Jonah expressed their displeasure with God's actions and plans.
The most striking illustration comes from the Israelites in the wilderness, whose continuous grumbling against God's provision and guidance led to severe divine judgment, including plagues and death. The sermon emphasizes that these events serve as a direct example for believers today, demonstrating God's intense disapproval of discontent.
Ultimately, complaining is defined as a deep-seated spiritual problem—a failure to trust God and submit to His providential will. It manifests either as emotional dissatisfaction (grumbling) or intellectual disputing with God's choices. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to recognize the seriousness of this sin and cultivate an attitude of grateful obedience, remembering that God, who judges complaint, is always near.
Key points
- Philippians 2:14 commands believers to do all things without grumbling or disputing, which means to stop complaining.
- Modern society, influenced by factors like small, self-indulgent families, breeds discontented individuals who resist responsibility.
- This complaining mentality has permeated the church, causing dissatisfaction over minor issues.
- Complaining is a deeply rooted sin, exemplified by Adam blaming God, and various Old Testament figures expressing discontent against God's will.
- The Israelites in the wilderness serve as a stark warning, as their repeated grumbling and disbelief led to severe divine judgment, including death.
- The New Testament (1 Corinthians 10) uses Israel's experience as an instruction for believers, highlighting the seriousness of grumbling.
- Complaining is defined as a deep-seated spiritual problem, indicating a failure to trust God and submit to His providential will in all circumstances.
In John MacArthur's words
“Few sins are uglier to me and few sins are uglier to God than the sin of complaining.”
“Complaining is the symptom of a deep-seeded spiritual problem.”
“Why should any living mortal or any man offer complaint in view of his sins?”
Outline
- I. Introduction: The Command to Stop Complaining (Philippians 2:14-16)
- A. A Complaining Society
- 1. Sociologist's thesis: Small families breed discontent and irresponsibility
- 2. Over-indulged children become adults who resist conformity and complain
- B. Complaining in the Church
- C. Complaining is an Uglier Sin to God
- II. The Ancient Roots of Complaining: Against God's Will
- A. Examples in Scripture
- 1. Adam (Genesis 3:8)
- 2. Cain (Genesis 4:13-14)
- 3. Moses (Exodus 5:22-23)
- 4. Aaron and Miriam (Numbers 12)
- 5. Jonah (Jonah 4:9-10)
- B. Complaining as a Rejection of God's Sovereignty (Romans 9:20, Jude 16)
- III. The Contagion and Consequences of Complaining: The Example of Israel
- A. Numbers 13-14: The Spies' Bad Report and its Spread
- 1. The death of the grumblers (Numbers 14:36)
- B. Exodus 14-17: Constant Grumbling After Deliverance
- 1. At the Red Sea (Exodus 14:11)
- 2. At Marah (Exodus 15:23)
- 3. In the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:2)
- 4. At Rephidim (Exodus 17:1-3)
- C. Numbers 11-21: Continued Complaining and Divine Judgment
- 1. Complaints of adversity and fire (Numbers 11:1-3)
- 2. Complaints about food (Numbers 11:4-6)
- 3. God's judgment: Death in the wilderness (Numbers 14:27-30)
- 4. Plague after challenging Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:41-49)
- D. Summary of Israel's Grumbling (Psalm 106:25)
- E. New Testament Warning (1 Corinthians 10:8-11)
- IV. Defining Complaining as a Spiritual Problem
- A. Failure to trust God
- B. Failure to submit to His providential will
- C. Who are we to complain in view of our sins? (Lamentations 3:39)
- V. "All Things" in Philippians 2:14
- A. Refers to "working out your salvation" (Philippians 2:12-13)
- B. The attitude for Christian living: obedience without complaint
- VI. The Two Forms of Complaining
- A. "Grumbling" (goggusmos): Emotional rejection, muttering discontent
- B. "Disputing" (dialogismos): Intellectual debate, questioning God's choices
- VII. Final Admonitions (James 5:9, 1 Peter 4:9)
- A. God is standing at the door
- B. Challenge: Go a day without complaining
Scripture references
- Philippians 2:14-16
- Philippians 2:12-13
- Genesis 3:8
- Genesis 4:13-14
- Exodus 5:22-23
- Numbers 12
- Jonah 4:9-10
- Romans 9:20
- Jude 16
- Numbers 13
- Numbers 14:36
- Exodus 14:11
- Exodus 15:22-23
- Exodus 15:27
- Exodus 16:2
- Exodus 17:1-3
- Numbers 11:1-4
- Numbers 11:6
- Numbers 14:27-30
- Numbers 16:41-49
- Numbers 20
- Numbers 21
- Psalm 106:25
- 1 Corinthians 10:8
- 1 Corinthians 10:10-11
- Lamentations 3:39
- James 5:9
- 1 Peter 4:9
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
22 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
1 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
1 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Insights
Over-indulgence often breeds deep discontent, not satisfaction.
Complaining can be a symptom of not trusting God's chosen path.
God views discontent and grumbling as serious, prideful sin.
Questions & answers
What is the sermon's main command from Philippians 2:14?
The main command is to "do all things without grumbling or disputing," meaning to live without complaining. This attitude is essential for working out one's salvation in all circumstances.
Why does the preacher discuss small families in relation to complaining?
The preacher references a sociologist's thesis that small, indulgent families, where the system bends to the child, can breed selfish, discontented individuals. These children grow into adults who struggle with responsibility and conformity, often leading to a complaining attitude.
How does the sermon define complaining?
Complaining is defined as a deep-seated spiritual problem rooted in a failure to trust God and submit to His providential will. It can manifest emotionally as 'grumbling' or intellectually as 'disputing' with God's plans.
What is the significance of the Israelites' complaining in the Old Testament?
The Israelites serve as a prime historical example of constant complaining against God, His provision, and His leaders. Their persistent discontent led to severe divine judgment, including plagues and death in the wilderness, as a warning for future generations.
What is the practical challenge given at the end of the sermon?
The preacher challenges listeners to try to go through the day without complaining about anything. He encourages them to note every instance of complaint to recognize its habitual nature and remember Lamentations 3:39.
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