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Sermon preached on Philippians 4:8 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 11/01/2026 in Petaluma, CA. This week’s message encouraged discernment to consider if the content we consume promotes what is true, good, and beautiful.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
After finishing our Ephesians series last week, I wanted to do an interlude sermon to reflect on the content we consume. The everyday person is consuming content continually. It has always been the case that we as Christians need to be discerning about what we feed our minds. But it seems that civilization continues to make content delivery easier and faster. All the way back in the time of the book of Ecclesiastes it said that of the writing of books there is no end (12:12). Yet since then, from Roman roads to the printing press, from radio and TV to smartphones and social media, we are getting an almost endless stream of literature, videos, images, music, and more. Likewise, there is increasing awareness to even how addictive our content consumption has become. As one non-Christian author, Neil Postman, mused even back in 1985, we are Amusing Ourselves to Death with all our mass media, and that was even before the World Wide Web! And so, I wanted to give a sermon on this topic, to consider what it is that we are filling our minds with.
This is a natural follow up to our sermon series in Ephesians. Ephesians taught that we have come into a new life in Christ Jesus where our minds are being renewed. It says that we should now walk in the light, in all that is good and right and true, and no longer in our former darkness. Surely, that has an application to be discerning about the media we consume. So then, I thought this verse from Philippians 4:8 would help as a tool for such discernment. Indeed, I encourage you to memorize this verse so it is readily available to your heart to use as such a tool.
Now, as I reflected on today’s verse from Philippians, I kept thinking about it from the classic transcendent and objective values of truth, goodness, and beauty. Things that are true and good and beautiful are so because that’s what they are. If something is true, its truth doesn’t depend on whether we believe it to be true. If something is good, its goodness doesn’t depend on whether or not we choose it or not. If something is beautiful, its beauty doesn’t depend on whether or not we personally enjoy it or not. Real truth, goodness, and beauty is not something subjective but something outside of ourselves. Indeed, it is because we are created in the image of God that we can even begin to recognize that which is true, good, and beautiful. And so, I thought truth, goodness, and beauty would be a helpful way to organize our sermon, today into three points. Now while it is true that Philippians 4:8 has us consider eight things, not just three things, nonetheless, we can conveniently group these eight things under the headings of truth, goodness, and beauty. This will be our sermon outline as we seek to discern the content we consume.
Let us begin with our first point on truth. Now, in this case, truth is specifically identified in verse 8 as something to be thinking about. Whatever is true, think about these things. We can define truth as that which accords with reality and fact. It is not false. Again, such truth describes a transcendent reality. There are things that are objectively true and things that are objectively false. Humans have certainly struggled with this. Pontius Pilate infamously asked, “What is truth?” in John 18:38. Philosophical skepticism questions our ability to determine truth. And many today want to disregard absolute truth for relativism. They would rather talk about “my truth” instead of “the truth”. We are not surprised that the world struggles with this when it is under the darkness of Satan who is the father of what is false. In contrast, Paul says here we should seek to discern what is true so that our minds could meditate on such things.
Let us affirm that the God who made all things and sustains all things also knows all things. Scripture affirms that God is the God of Truth (Isaiah 65:16). God alone comprehensively knows all truth in his infinite understanding. And yet, while we as finite beings do not know all truth, yet God does reveal truth to us. Indeed, the Holy Scriptures are described as truth. In John 17:17, Jesus prayed we would learn such truth, saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” And so, we should especially use God’s Word to help us seek out the truth in all things. Now, while the Bible does not exhaustively reveal every truth, it does sufficiently reveal that which we need to know of God, our duty toward him, and how we can be in a right relationship with him through Jesus Christ. It also clearly defines that truth is an objective reality that we are to seek and fill our mind with.
Now if at first this pursuit of truth at all sounds high and lofty and too philosophical or academic, it comes very down to earth when we apply it to the topic of discerning the content that we consume. For example, when you are consuming content, you need to determine if what you are consuming is true or not. There is so much false and even deceptive content out there that we have invented terms to describe it. Fake news. Deepfake videos. Misleading headlines. Cherry-picked evidence. Overstatement. AI hallucinations. Quotations taken out of context. And especially: false doctrine. These and more can be examples where content we consume may be either purposefully or accidently presenting what is false as if it were true.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you must never ever consume such false content. For example, there is surely a time and place for taking in content in order to assess it critically. How else will we be able to combat the world with the truth that is in Christ Jesus if we are not prepared to expose the darkness of the world’s lies. That can be a way in which you are thinking about truth even as you engage something false. And yet, that is different than regularly consuming a large diet of content where what is truth is presented as false and what is false is presented as truth. The more we let our guard down to take in what is false the more we risk that content getting us to believe and accept what is false. So then, may we heed Paul’s exhortation to think on what is true as we consider the content we consume.
Let us now turn to our second point on goodness. While the word “good” does not appear in this verse, the idea is very prevalent. We can broadly define what is good as that which accords with God’s character and what is his revealed will for mankind. In our verse, these three phrases contribute to considering what is good in an objective sense: “whatever is just”, “whatever is pure”, and “if there is any excellence”. Consider what is just. The Greek word for just here is dikaia which can also be translated as righteous or right. Whatever is just, righteous and right, we should think about. In other words, Paul says we should be meditating on things that are in accordance to God’s righteous standards of morality. Obedience to God’s moral law is not only right, but it is good. Disobedience to God’s moral law is not only wrong, it is bad, and it is evil. Thus, true goodness conforms to God’s law. Consider next whatever is pure. The Greek word for pure here refers to the purity that comes in devotion to God. You could thus also translate it as holy, or even innocent. Such purity keeps itself from moral corruption. Thus, true goodness is that which is undefiled, spotless, not mixed with any evil, but fully good. Consider then the phrase, “if there is any excellence.” This Greek word for excellence was a classical term used to describe something that excels in its intended purpose. When applied to humans, it referred to virtue, how humans should possess moral excellence. Such virtues include things like self-control, justice, prudence, courage, faith, hope, and love. That which is truly good is excellent and virtuous.
So then, Paul would have us to consider what is truly good in the content we consume. Does what we watch, read, or hear cultivate righteousness, purity, and virtue? Sadly, so much media out there does not get us to think about these things, but the very opposite. As Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians, there is a spirit of lawlessness at work, today. Satan looks to promote this through all the people he has kept in darkness. For example, so much content today presents evil as good and good as evil. Think of how much sin is increasingly normalized in modern media. How many tv shows or movies display someone doing something the Bible says is sin yet does not present it as evil but implies it is good? Sex outside of marriage is an example. Likewise, does it promote moral purity? Think of how many ads, for example, are trying to sell their product or service through appealing to sinful lusts of the flesh? And what does the content portray as virtues? Does it encourage envy of others, such as a political podcast that constantly tries to get you upset at what others have that you don’t? Or does it encourage contempt for others like a comedy act or talk show that constantly degrades people?
Or consider how false doctrine can attack what is good. 2 Timothy 4:3 says people will have itching ears and accumulate teachers that will just tell them what they want to hear instead of what is actually good and right. For example, some false teachers declare that it would be evil of God to send anyone to hell, so everyone must go to heaven at the end. Even if the content you are consuming is labeled Christian, you still need to be a Berean and assess its goodness.
What about as you scroll and scroll that social media news feed? What about as you click the comments and read what people say about others or to others? How many of those posts or comments are “good”? And if you spend an inordinate amount of time doing that, is that good? If you spend more time scrolling than in Scripture, more time liking a post than praying, is that what is good for your soul?
Again, there can be a time and a place for critically engaging content that suffers in the goodness category. You can learn about the human condition and assess the moral compass of our culture in such content. And yet, that is different than regularly consuming a large diet of content where good is presented as evil or evil is presented as good. The more we let our guard down to take in what is not good the more we risk that content forming us in non-good ways. We can find our judgments on what is good or not becoming skewed. We can find ourselves more tempted in those areas. We can find ourselves more inclined to act in such evil ways. As Paul warns in 1 Cor. 15:33, “Bad company ruins good morals.” Along these lines, there is surely some content, that is so evil, that we would be sinning just to consume even a little of it. Pornography would be one example. We need to realize that some content is so evil that it is not good for our soul in any capacity. So then, may we heed Paul’s exhortation to think on what is good as we consider the content we consume.
Let us now turn to our third point on beauty. We can define beauty as that excellence in something that warrants our affections, admiration, and delight for it. While there is that saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” I am not talking here about subjective beauty in the sense of personal preference. I am talking about objective beauty where certain things have an inherent beauty to them. We could certainly look and find objective beauty in certain disciplines like math or music. And we can also find objective beauty in moral categories. For example, reverence for God is inherently beautiful. Or, marital fidelity amidst hardship and temptation is inherently beautiful. And so, while we are not talking about subjective beauty, what we should seek to cultivate in our heart is to personally recognize and admire what is objectively beautiful and to personally recognize and be disgusted at what is objectively ugly.
To be clear, as we consider such beauty, we must look to God and his Word to tell us what is objectively beautiful. Surely the reason we can recognize such beauty is because God himself is the definition of such beauty. Consider how Psalm 27:4 rejoices that going to worship God allows us to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Or how Psalm 96 praises God for his glory, splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty.
So then, while the exact Greek word for beauty does not appear here in verse 8, the concept of recognizing beauty is certainly present when Paul says to think on whatever is lovely, whatever is honorable, whatever is commendable, and on anything worthy of praise. Let me briefly define these four words from the Greek. The word for lovely is about that which is pleasing so that it draws you to love it. The word for honorable is about that which is worthy of special esteem and respect, that it possesses a dignity worth recognizing. The word for commendable is about that which is worthy of approval. The word for praise is about that which is worthy of admiring and celebrating. So then, the reason why I think these words are fitting to think about under the category of beauty, is because this is what true beauty should result in. Paul wants us to think on such beautiful things that elicit such positive reactions.
So then, Paul would have us to consider what is truly beautiful in the content we consume. Does what we watch, read, or hear properly portray such beauty? Does it call us to love, esteem, commend, and celebrate that which is truly beautiful? Sadly, so much media out there today does the opposite. It calls us to love, esteem, commend, and celebrate that which is not beautiful. Romans 1:32 laments how human fallenness is so dark that people not only practice sin but give approval to those who practice it. So much content today not only presents sin in a normalizing way, but in a celebratory way. The LGBTQ movement has especially used media to try to present homosexuality as something beautiful. Yet, God’s Word says it is an abomination, something we should find ugly not beautiful. Or what about a rap song that glorifies violence, revenge, drug dealing, or some other crime? Those are not beautiful things to rap about as if they were. Those are things the Bible says to lament about. Yet, this is an example of how something like music can try to make evil look attractive. We have to be on guard against the power of such media to form us in godlessness. So then, may we heed Paul’s exhortation to think on what is beautiful as we consider the content we consume.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, I’ve given you several examples of content to be on guard against and only limited positive examples of what to think on. But in closing, I will point you to the chief object you should be thinking upon. I have in mind, Jesus Christ, along with his story of how he redeems us. Jesus, as the image of the invisible God, perfectly embodies the true, the good, and the beautiful. Jesus came revealing the truth from God, John 8. Jesus lived a truly good life, having been tempted in every way, yet without sin, Hebrews 4:15. And Jesus’ beauty was wonderfully described in John 1:14 saying, “And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” And yet, for Jesus to be so perfectly true, good, and beautiful, reminds us how we are not.
Indeed, while it’s God’s image in us that enables us to recognize what is true, good, and beautiful, that is an image that has been marred ever since mankind’s fall into sin. Interestingly, these categories were involved when our first parents disobeyed God. Genesis 3 records Eve looking at the forbidden tree’s fruit with Satan’s tempting. It describes how she thought it looked good and beautiful. But Adam and Eve didn’t heed the truth of God’s Word but instead listened to Satan’s lie by eating the forbidden fruit. Their disobedience plunged all mankind into the consequences of sin. Yet, that is why Jesus came, to seek and save that which was lost. Jesus came to redeem us from our lies, from our wickedness, and from loving that which we should hate. He did this on the cross, dying to pay for our sin, and then rising again in victory over it. If we turn to Jesus in faith, the gospel declares that we have forgiveness of all our sins. But not only are we forgiven, but we find that the Holy Spirit begins working inside us to restore us in the beauty of God’s image in which we were created. To make us begin to see properly what is true and good and beautiful. Jesus will finish this work within us on the day of his return. How true, and good, and beautiful that day will be. While today we spent some time reflecting on the media we consume, let us especially remember now how true, and good, and beautiful our salvation in Jesus is. Let us think on such things! Praise be to God, let us celebrate again the gospel!
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
