Phil 1:12-18
An idea worth going to prison is a dangerous idea but a commendable one. Often I have found myself respecting and being in awe of those who stand on an idea and believe it so much they risk losing their personal freedom or even their life.
I pray for that kind of courage and conviction, and I hope you do as well. Joseph had this in the Old Testament, Paul had this in the New, and countless others in history have stood their ground and have been rewarded with seeing the work of God flourish.
Our brothers and sisters in Jesus who are being persecuted all over the world are seeing this.
Yes, they may suffer terribly, but God does a wonderfully beautiful and confusing thing:
The gospel doesn’t retreat, it doesn’t even stay stagnant, rather it grows, advances, presses on, marches.
I used to get discouraged when certain statistics would say that churches are dying here in America, and that some Brethren churches are closing down, but then I was encouraged by two points.
One, other stats would say that while mainline denominations may be shedding members, people are still accepting the gospel,
and Two, the church is exploding in places like South America, Africa, Asia, and others in the third world.
Paul may have been in prison when he penned this work, and yet the message of God’s loving in Jesus Christ was moving forward.
Paul, may have lost freedom but even in the worst of circumstances, the gospel goes forward.
IN FACT, Paul says here it is even going forward faster, like a mighty river that is forced through a canyon picks up speed during its travel.
Paul is in prison, ‘for Christ’ and this is not only saying, “I am in prison simply because I am a believer.” He actually sees his own suffering as tying into what Christ suffered on the cross.
Let me explain, Jesus suffered for many reasons, one reason was to offer the perfect sacrificial lamb of love for our sin, and another reason is so God’s redemptive work would press forward. Now, Paul knew he was human.
He knew that his suffering would not redeem anyone’s sin, so he does not share Christ’s agony in that regard, but both Jesus and Paul suffered so that the good news (gospel) would be carried globally, saving the world.
We too may suffer and struggle as individual believers and as a church as we have during our different times of trouble.
Yet even during those rough times, the gospel is still getting out there to people.
God’s kingdom does not retreat, for why would you retreat if your enemy is weaker than you? God’s kingdom presses on despite the hardships.
Think of it like football! There are boundaries that we would not cross if we wanted to remain true to the message, but within those boundaries you have different ways of scoring whether passing, running, etc. Likewise, when one method of promoting the gospel seems to wane, there is another to take its place.
Yes we journey together as believers, yes that won’t always be easy, but do we look at the mountains towering above us and get discouraged,
…or do we see things the way God does, from above and see peaks and opportunities.
Paul was imprisoned, but most of the believers who saw this were encouraged in the Lord to speak more courageously and fearlessly. Talk about a dangerous idea!
God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. Remember that, and do not be closed-minded to ways that God is still working in the world. He uses unlikely people and strange situations to advance His work. If I were God and had to write history, it would not have my servant Paul in jail it would not have had my disciples clueless about my message, and it certainly would not involve my son dying on a cross,
Yet, as I think about it, it probably is a good thing I am not God, because if it were my way, people would start to forget about me and would would start to take credit for themselves. The cross obliterates that and causes us to be humble and say,
“God thank you for taking the foolish things of this world to show your wisdom and power, because it means you are good, and I cannot take credit for any of it.”
Human circumstances are in God’s hands and He uses them to advance the gospel.
Disciples of Christ, fear not, the for the gospel is being preached in this world. The Holy Spirit is saving lives and for Paul as for us, that is all that should matter.
When difficult, even life-threatening, circumstances face us, we should take Paul as our example and look for how God might be working still.
How do we do this? we remember God is in control, and we remind ourselves of evidence from the past that God has been at work in the church
From the beginning of the church in the New Testament to the present day, God has been acting mightily. Even here, think of all the miracles we have experienced, and even if God has not given you or your children a miraculous healing, He has still brought us together as one community, one church.
Thus when God’s purpose seem far from our own suffering, we can remind ourselves through the example of others that he is nevertheless at work.
Now moving on to the next section, the last one saying that the gospel will always advance so we can have both courage and comfort,
This new section talks about Paul’s rivals. There are basically two groups preaching. One is doing it by envy, the other by goodwill.
One group is motivated by love, the other is motivated by selfish ambition. One group is false, and the other is true.
Yet the funny thing is, both preach Jesus Christ. It is not like one is preaching a right gospel and the other a wrong one. Both preach Christ, and the wrong one probably wants to do it to get more power and to undercut Paul. They want to make a name for themselves, to be the flavor of the week.
Yet even so, Paul can still rejoice.
He does not have to fear, because the truth of the gospel is getting out there, and that gives Paul joy.
What does that have to do with us you may ask? well, when it seems as through fellow Christians tighten the shackles on our wrists, when they seem to only worsen our pain instead of alleviate it, and try to promote themselves, remember Paul’s perspective.
Even in those hardest times, the gospel is still getting out there. We can rejoice, for God will see to it those false preachers get what’s coming to them.
Now Paul is NOT saying that the motives don’t matter.
In fact he worked as a tentmaker so that no one could accuse him of trying to get rich on a missionary salary.
These guys were acting like tyrants and a pastor should never ever act like that, or claim superiority because of who he is.
So what’s the point? Are the motives important or is Paul kind of just brushing it off his shoulder?
Well, the answer is God has the power to make people with impure or even downright sinister motives still serve his ends.
Whether it is Paul being imprisoned or these rival preachers, God is able to use them for redemption.
“Well it was easy for Paul” you may think to yourself, but he has the same joy that we can all experience.
Paul’s suffering was real, the same as your suffering may be today, but that did not destroy his hope that even if he hurt, lives were being changed for Christ. God can still take hurt and shattered pieces and create something beautiful.
Specifically, this passage urges the modern church to recognize God can use people whose Christian commitment is insincere to advance the gospel.
This does not mean approving of their motives or their methods, but it does mean not despairing that the insincere proclamation of the gospel will somehow muddy the waters. God will still use it for his glory.
Philippians 1:18a shows that God can use unscrupulous televangelists, money-grubbing radio preachers, and sophisticated but unbelieving clergy to communicate his truth.
The work is God’s and when we find ourselves surrounded by unfaithful people of the church who do not respond to our pleas that they mend their ways,
our joy will remain intact if we remember that God is in control and that wherever Christ is preached, God can advance the gospel. You may have had teachers in your life that were insincere in their desire to teach but that did not make null the facts that they gave you. It is the same with the truth of the Bible.
Three Implications–First the passage demonstrates indirectly the value of finding believers who can serve as examples of how to grapple with suffering the way a Christian should. That is why we have mentors.
Mentors, church leaders, your input to disciple the next generation of Christians is vital. your attitude should be Paul’s-follow me as I follow Christ
Second the passage demonstrates and important principle of truth, one often missed by modern Christians, particularly here in the U.S. God works not merely in spite of but through adverse circumstances. He chose the foolishness of the cross to accomplish his redemptive purposes (1 Cor. 1:18),
We think struggle is a bad thing: it isn’t always. God chose to work through the means of struggle so in order to demonstrate that the advancement of the gospel was God’s doing rather than a matter of human ingenuity (1 Cor. 1:29; 2 Cor. 4:7)
We are not likely to find the greatest advances of the gospel within the circles of prestige, power, and wealth so pervasive in the West. Rather, we should expect instead that the gospel will make the greatest strides in places where no doubt exists that God is the one doing it.
Third this passage shows that when our joy is connected to the advancement of the gospel rather than to our physical condition or to the responses of other people to us, it remains firm, even when these circumstances stand against us.
HI-Remember Paul’s example. Nothing can stop the gospel from going forward. Paul stakes his life on that. He is in prison, false preachers abound yet gospel prevails.
Throw whatever you want at it, refuse to believe it, try to stamp it out, it marches on.
You may have chains. it may come in the form of persecution from people for your faith, from personal struggles, but if you are living for the gospel, then God considers those to be the chains of Christ, the shackles of the Savior, God’s jewelry, and like Paul, you can rejoice knowing God is doing a great work.