April 12 2026

Sunday April 12

“Sincere and Without Offense”

Philippians 1:9-11

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” 

Today we’re looking at Philippians 1:9–11. These verses teach us how to pray. Paul prayed these words for the believers at Philippi. This is a powerful prayer—a prayer that we can pray for each other. But I think it is also a prayer that we need to understand can be applied even to ourselves. As we’ve talked about these verses, we’ve found that our love must abound more and more. It must be love with knowledge. It must be love with discernment. Then it must be love that also speaks of those things that are excellent—not things that are just good for us, but that teach us to walk in paths of righteousness that are the best for us as we follow the Lord.

Today we want to look at this phrase: “that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ”. Till the day of Christ—sincere and without offense. Of course, sincere carries the idea of being pure and genuine, without hidden motives. Did you realize that one day, when we are standing at the judgment seat of Christ as believers, we will be judged? There we will be judged for our works—not so much for what we did, but why we did what we did. What was the motive behind our work? (Read 1 Corinthians 3:9-15).

Did we go to church? Oh yes, we went to church. But why did we go to church? Did we go so people would see us and think, “Oh, you’re a good Christian,” and we want people to notice that we’re trying to be a good Christian? No. The motive is not to go to church to show others what kind of Christian we are. The motive must be to glorify the Lord. Why did we tithe? Why did we teach Sunday School? Why did we go on the mission trip? We will be judged and rewarded not for what we did or didn’t do, but for our motive behind the act of service or giving.

That’s why Paul ends this prayer by saying that “we are being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God”. Whatever we do, we are to do to the glory of God through Jesus Christ. Remember, it is not so much what you do—it is who you are. That’s what Jesus said in His first recorded message in the Gospels, in Matthew chapter 5. We call it the Beatitudes. I often say these are the attitudes that human beings ought to have—the attitude of Jesus Christ.

Remember what they were in Matthew chapter 5. He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” It is the spirit of humility, not of pride. That’s the first thing that must be going on in our hearts. We are totally, absolutely dependent upon Jesus Christ.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We are broken over our sin. The first words we have recorded that Jesus preached in the Gospel of Matthew 4:17. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We have an attitude of turning from our way to God’s way. That’s what it means to repent. Then we become sincere, and we are without offense in our motives—genuine, with no hidden motives.

“Without offense” means living in a way that does not cause others to stumble. We can say to others, “Follow me as I follow Christ,” and we say it in humility. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The word meek means that we are totally, absolutely yielded to the Lord in every aspect of our lives. We’ve given up ownership of our lives. We’ve given up the right to ourselves to Jesus Christ. He is Lord of our lives.

When we live in sincerity and without offense, it is “until the day of Christ”. Remember in verse 6, Paul used this same thought: “Now, being confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ.” One day, we’re going to give an account for our works—not just what we did, but what we were. Did we do them in the name of Jesus Christ? Remember John 15—Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing.”

As you think about these things today, ask yourself, are you living a life that is sincere and without offense till the day of Christ—that is honest, transparent, and consistent? And why? Is it all to the glory of God?

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!