Philippians 2:14 “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.”
A malcontent is like an untreated cancer, through “murmurings and disputings”, these grumblers and complainers will begin to infect the Church and soon rob the Church of joy and peace and fellowship. In such an unsettled environment, the Church will soon begin to decline, for the Children of God inherently yearn to worship and fellowship in peace. The “all things” are those “things” considered in the context of this Epistle; such as, let “your conversation” be “as it becometh the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27), “to believe on” Christ and to “suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29), to “love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Philippians 2:2), “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory” (Philippians 2:3), and “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). Malcontents begin to “murmur” when, through jealousy, they want something that someone else has, through laziness they feel like such service to the Lord is too hard for them, through weariness they begin to feel too tired to labor on, or when times are hard they begin to lose hope. Malcontents begin to “dispute” when they let their carnal logic overcome their spiritual understanding, they want to prove just how much smarter they are than everyone else, they haven’t been taught properly, or they didn’t avail themselves of proper preaching/teaching. The inoculation and antidote for “murmurings and disputings” is for preachers to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2:15) and “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (II Timothy 4:2), and be “pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11), and to “Feed the flock of God which is among you” (I Peter 5:2); furthermore, the Church at large must go to and participate in Church, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) and joyfully “take up the cross, and follow” our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 10:21). When “murmurings and disputings” ruin a Church, soon families are ruined, followed by the ruin of communities, then the Country begins to fail; then the pall of misery settles upon all like an ominous cloud.