From the Pulpit...

Paul commands the church to rejoice but beware of false teachers. Check yourself out against verse 3 again. Make sure you have the right focus, and your boasting is in the Lord and not in your own fleshly accomplishments. Make sure that you are in fact serving God. Are you wary of bad doctrine that would oppose the true gospel (v. 2)? And finally (v. 1), are you rejoicing in the Lord no matter what your circumstances might be?