God’s Word for You

Philippians 4:8-9 Praiseworthy

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, April 22, 2026

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about these things. 9 Whatever you learned or received or heard from me, or saw in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

“Think about these things,” Paul says. He has laid a foundation in the previous seven verses of standing firm in the Lord, and of agreeing with one another—once again, in the Lord. He has urged his readers to rejoice, to show their faith, their gentleness, of letting go of anxiety, of regular and persistent prayer, and of trusting in God’s peace. Now he expresses another group of qualities to be considered by the Christian and put to use in our lives. These additional eight qualities show our faith, and we should put them each into practice whenever and wherever we can. Think about these things and put them into practice:

“Whatever is true.” Not everything that is true is useful or helpful, when we remember that much gossip is based on some truth but for an unhealthy purpose. This is where something excellent brushes up against the Eighth Commandment. But when we couple truth with rightness, purity, admirability, and so on, we set aside the harm of gossipy truth and bring God’s holy truth into the light to shine on us. The brightest truth of all is God’s holy Word. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). And David prayed, “Do not tear the word of truth completely out of my mouth, for I wait for your judgments” (Psalm 119:43). Jesus was praying for the word of God to show us God’s holy will and gospel. David was asking for this not to be taken from us by our enemies.

“Whatever is honorable.” This word (also “noble”) is also found in Paul’s Pastoral Letters. Honorable is the opposite of dishonorable, vulgar. A person who embraces the vulgar will become vulgar. God does not want us to be vulgar or dishonorable. He wants his people to have a good reputation. A pastor in particular “must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:7). Solomon adds a warning: “It is not honorable to seek one’s own honor” (Proverbs 25:27).

“Whatever is right.” God asked Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7). God gives righteousness through the Means of Grace, and he wants us to reflect that righteousness with right living, right thinking, right speaking, in our lives. “Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right” (Psalm 106:3).

“Whatever is pure.” God’s eyes, the prophet declares, are too pure to look on evil (Habakkuk 1:13), for God cannot tolerate wrong. The pure in heart are blessed (Matthew 5:8), a pure devotion to Christ is Paul’s high standard (2 Corinthians 11:3). Purity is another way of saying innocence, and it is often used to describe true chastity (2 Corinthians 11:2; 1 Timothy 5:2). The way to present oneself (whether man or woman) to a spouse as pure is to remain pure before marriage—even before one has met one’s spouse. In ancient times, women were married very young; this is probably why the Law of Moses spends more time condemning sexual impurity among the married than among the unmarried (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10; Numbers 25:1). But purity is also God’s rule for worship and faith. “Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! How long will you be incapable of purity?” (Hosea 8:5). Peter gives this encouragement: “Wives, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives” (1 Peter 3:1-2).

“Whatever is lovely.” To be lovely is most often something we say of beautiful women (Genesis 29:17; Esther 2:7; Song of Solomon 1:5; Amos 8:13), but the Psalms also say, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies!” (Psalm 84:1). Loveliness in worship is also something we want to strive for. To worship unhurried, to let worship appear to be at the same time dignified, organized, well thought out, and yet to also appear spontaneous may not be perfectly achievable every Sunday, but it benefits God’s people when the worship leader strives for a certain loveliness and perfection in worship. We rarely notice when the lector reading the lessons has practiced, but we always notice when he has not. Our worship spaces can also strive for loveliness. Do we have stacks of chairs in full view during the sermon? If the worship space is small, or rented, this might not always be avoidable. But if not….

“Whatever is admirable.” This is anything with a good reputation. Paul is returning to the earlier thought of “honorable,” except that now the idea of something to be imitated is included. Paul said, “I urge you to imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16). John put it this way: “Do not imitate what is evil, but what is good” (3 John 1:11). I think of the way I feel whenever I watch a movie with Denzel Washington. I always want to improve the way I dress when I see him. Then I look in my closet, and I settle for clean clothes even if they aren’t the snappiest clothes. We want to give our best to God, and we want our people to respect us. Peter said, “Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12). Not that good deeds or sharp clothes do anything for our souls, but if they turn the head of an unbeliever a little so that in turn they also see Christ, then is that not admirable? I’m glad my dear mother taught me how to use an iron and an ironing board.

“If anything is excellent.” Some commentators do not include “excellent” or “praiseworthy” as part of the list of qualities to be pursued. I don’t see a reason to exclude them. Excellence is the highest category of anything, whether academics, athletics, architecture (which was once an Olympic event!), or anything else. Should we not strive for excellence in our teaching? And in our preaching? A sermon can be overly dramatic, but we have the example of Christ and his Apostles and men like Luther who all touched the emotions in their preaching. Another aspect of excellence in leading worship (forgive me for applying these words to my own ministry first) is the excellent utility of measured silence. We do not have to blast away with our words like a cannon or a firehose or a soldier shouting his orders. Sometimes it can help the listener to… pause, even for a moment.

“If anything is praiseworthy.” What would be praiseworthy? First, “the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4). But is there something you have noticed, perhaps in someone you look up to, that would be praiseworthy? Is it wrong or wicked to compliment a fellow Christian? And the greatest form of flattery is imitation. The most praiseworthy people I know are my parents and my brother and sister. I have often found that when my friends meet those close family members of mine, they say that they feel like they already knew them. I suppose that’s because I’ve always found that I emulate, imitate, and reflect their excellent qualities. They have always made me better than I am. And this is even more true of our Savior Jesus Christ. If anyone was ever praiseworthy and worth imitating, it is Jesus our Lord.

Think about these things. Put them into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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