Philippians 1:27-30

Please take out your Bibles and turn with me to Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

For quite a few weeks now, we've had a pop in the sound system, and it's only one.

John and I were up here on Friday trying to diagnose it, and we could not recreate it, no matter what we tried to do.

We couldn't make it happen again, but this past Monday I had the opportunity to go to a conference in Atlanta,

at a well-funded, a well-equipped church, and I was so encouraged.

The same thing happened to them.

In fact, I went and told the sound guy, I know you didn't do anything wrong,

but I just want you to know that I was encouraged, because that happens to us sometimes,

and it's quite all right, isn't it? Wake you up a little bit.

Our text for today is Philippians chapter 1, verses 27 through 30.

Philippians 1:27–30

Before I read it, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good, so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and to obey its commands.

Beginning in verse 27, Paul writes,

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God.

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him,

but also suffer for his sake.

Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

The gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ is truly good news.

It is the greatest declaration that this world has ever heard.

It is the news that people who have rejected the good reign of the creator God

and deserve eternal death

can be made alive because of the perfect life and substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived the life required by the law of God,

a life that we could never and will never live,

so that in him we might be counted as righteous.

Jesus died the death that we deserved.

He bore the wrath of God that was due to us,

so that in him we might have all our sins forgiven.

For those who believe the gospel,

we add nothing to the equation of our salvation but our unholiness.

We only bring our sin.

It is God who does the saving.

He justifies.

He redeems.

He adopts.

And he does not do this on our merit,

but on the merit of Christ.

We are saved by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

So, in that sense,

salvation is free.

Paul wrote in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23,

Romans 6 · chapter mention

For the wages of sin is death,

but the free gift of God

is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But,

in another sense,

it is costly.

You see,

when Jesus becomes your Savior,

he also becomes your Lord.

You cannot separate out the true.

And those who are,

in fact,

in Christ Jesus

will willingly follow him

wherever he leads.

Where is it that our Savior and Lord

leads us?

He leads us

to radical self-denial

and to suffering.

Let me show you some

parallel texts

to this one.

Mark chapter 8,

Mark 8:34

verse 34 and following.

Jesus said,

If anyone

would come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

The cross is not a place

of mild discomfort.

The cross is a place

of death.

Verse 35,

For whoever would save his life

will lose it,

but whoever loses his life

for my sake

and the Gospels

will save it.

It's a costly call

to follow Jesus.

John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 18

and following.

Again,

here,

Jesus says,

If the world hates you,

know that it has hated me

before it hated you.

If you were of the world,

the world would love you

as its own,

but because you are not

of the world,

but I chose you

out of the world,

therefore,

the world hates you.

Remember the word I said to you,

a servant is not greater

than his master.

If they persecuted me,

they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word,

they will also keep yours.

I think a lot of people today

think subconsciously

that they are greater

than their master.

Those who follow Christ

follow him wherever he leads.

Radical self-denial

and suffering.

If we are to receive

the free gift

of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

it is going to cost us

everything.

But beloved,

this is a trade

worth making.

It is far more excellent

to give up everything

that we might gain

Christ.

Jim Elliot very famously said,

I hope that this quotation

popped into your head

as I said those things.

Jim Elliot,

if you don't know,

was one of a couple

of Christian missionaries

who were martyred

in an effort

to preach the Gospel

to the Harani.

Somebody's going to

correct me on that.

People of Ecuador.

He said this,

he is no fool

who gives

what he cannot keep

to gain

what he cannot

lose.

If we are going to answer

the costly call

of the Gospel,

we are going to need

a robust theology

of suffering.

I am so grateful

that the Bible

is not silent

on this topic.

I am thankful

that we did not

have to have

some grand wisdom

to think that we

needed to prepare

the church

for suffering,

but the Bible

does it for us.

And as we open it

and read it

and get into it

and teach it

bit by bit

by bit

across the years,

I am grateful

that we have

some foundation

for this

in the life

of our church.

The Bible

instructs us

again and again

in this matter.

You cannot be

a reader of the Bible

and not see

that it is

teaching Christians

how they ought

to suffer.

So with all this

in mind,

let's study today's text

in the following

simple outline.

Two main points.

Number one,

the consistent conduct

the Gospel demands.

And number two,

the togetherness

the Gospel affords.

And of course,

I've got some sub points,

but the consistent conduct

the Gospel demands.

The togetherness

the Gospel affords.

So number one,

the consistent conduct

the Gospel demands.

And we see this

in verse 27.

Paul begins this section

by telling the Philippians

that they must live

in a manner

consistent

with the Gospel.

He begins the sentence

with the word

only,

which means that

if they are recipients

of the good news,

then they have

no latitude

but to live

in light

of it.

Our lives

are meant to model

the message

that we have embraced.

We began

by absolute

surrender

to Christ.

We threw ourselves

on His person

and work.

You become convicted

of your sin

and you see it

in the light

of God's holiness.

You know you have

a huge problem.

You know you need

as Savior.

And if this is true

of you,

you throw yourself

the mercy of God

found in the person

and work

of Christ.

We asked for it.

We said,

Lord, I know

you're merciful.

I know you will

supply it

in Christ.

And with that

kind of abandon,

we must

continue.

His phrase then,

only let

your manner

of life.

Let your manner

of life

is a single

Greek word.

You could also

render this

conduct yourselves.

Greek allows

for a high

level of

nuance.

I'm grateful

for a lot of

things in my life.

One of the things

that I'm thankful

for is that

I don't have

the task

of translating

the Bible

from Greek

into English.

I'm glad

that there are

more brilliant men

than I

that do this

work.

And in this case,

there's a single

word that they

expand out

in one case

into two words

and the ESV,

which I'm looking

at now,

into five.

There's a lot

of nuance

that Greek

allows for.

And so there's

some things to

point out about

this particular

verb.

I'm going to do

it fast and

not be nerdy

about it.

First,

it's in the

present tense,

which means

the exhortation

is always

active.

It's not a

one-time thing.

It's an

ongoing,

continual thing.

It's a

now and

forward

thing.

It's in the

middle voice

and it is

second person

plural,

which means

it's an

exhortation

for every

believer.

It's always

active and

it's for

every believer.

Steve Lawson,

who's a

contemporary

preacher and

commentator,

said this.

This could be

translated this

way.

It's a

grand

expansion.

He wrote

this.

Live

consistent

with the

gospel always.

Take action

with this,

all of you,

and that is

God's

command.

Live

consistent

with the

gospel always.

Take action

with this,

all of you,

and that

is God's

command.

So the

command to

only let

your manner

of life be

worthy of

the gospel

of Christ

is a

command

for every

believer

always.

And Paul

emphasizes this

by saying

so that

whether I

come and

see you

or am

absent,

we are to

live in a

manner

consistent

with the

gospel

consistently

all the

time.

We are

supposed to

be doing

this work.

Beloved,

obedience is

never

optional.

We are

not saved

by our

works.

We're

saved by

the work

of Christ.

We're

not saved

by our

works.

But people

who have

been saved

by the

works of

Christ

work to

live lives

of grateful

obedience.

We're called

to holiness.

We're meant

to be putting

off our

old selves

and putting

on our

new selves,

this reality

of who we

are in

Jesus.

We're supposed

to be growing

in that

truth.

We've been

set free

from bondage

to sin.

Do we

believe that?

We no

longer have

to by the

power that

Christ provides

by his

spirit.

Sin.

And we

can grow

in holiness.

Paul had

observed this

reality with

the Philippian

believers,

right?

He's not

rebuking

them here.

He's actually

encouraging them

to press

on.

And we see

this in

Philippians

Philippians 2:12

chapter 2

verse 12,

the first

half of

it.

He says,

therefore,

my beloved,

as you

have always

obeyed,

so now,

not only

as in my

presence,

but much

more in

my absence.

And then he

tells them,

continue,

work out your

salvation with

fear and

with trembling.

We are

meant to

live lives

that respond

to the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

God

secondly,

the

togetherness

the gospel

affords.

The

togetherness

the gospel

affords.

The gospel

of Jesus

Christ does

not save

us to

solitariness,

but saves,

purchases

us a

people.

We're not

saved by

ourselves.

We are

saved as

individuals,

but we are

saved as

a

people.

it's an

imperfect

people,

but it's

a people

who are

meant to

be a

wonderful

grace to

us.

If you've

been here

for very

long,

you have

heard me

said,

the more

I mature

in Christ,

the more

I recognize

my great

need of

the church.

I am

not outgrowing

you.

I'm growing

in my

realization

of how

much I

need you.

What a

grace you

are to

me.

And it

troubles me

that there

are so

many people

in our

day that

seem to

mature a

bit.

They seem

to understand

some of

the commands

of Scripture.

They seem

to see a

healthy picture

of what the

church might

look like,

and they

get frustrated

and they

abandon

church

altogether.

Other than

lending that

maturity and

helping people

see and grow

up in

faithfulness

to Christ,

they dip

out altogether.

And again,

and again,

and again,

I see

these people

no longer

mature,

and in

fact,

in many

cases,

regress as

they deny

themselves the

grace that

can be given

to them in

the life of

a church.

We are an

imperfect people,

but we have a

God who works

mightily as

we meet

together.

We have

noted over the

past few

weeks that

Paul's letter

to the

Philippians is

deeply

personal.

This letter

does not

contain rebuke,

he's not

writing to

correct anything,

but only

encouragement.

Recall

Philippians

Philippians 1:3–5

chapter 1

verse 3

through 5

where he

wrote,

I thank

my God

in all

my

remembrance

of you,

always in

every prayer

of mine

for you

all making

my prayer

with joy

because of

your partnership

in the gospel

from the first

day until

now.

Paul is so

encouraging

toward them.

But even

when Paul

was writing

to rebuke,

he also

found

opportunity

to encourage,

to be

grateful

for the

church.

You begin

to read

Paul's

letters in

this way.

I mean,

he's really

harsh

things,

but he

is so

positive

about the

people that

he's writing

these things

to.

And Paul

wrote a

scathing

letter to

the Corinthian

church,

which

purposed

to bring

them

some

harsh

correction,

right?

They were

an absolute

mess.

They were

allowing for

unrepentant,

really gross

unrepentant

sin.

They were

factitious.

They were

dividing over

silly things.

I follow

Paul.

I follow

Apollos.

They were

unloving

toward one

another.

They were

proud.

But listen

to Paul's

opening words

to them.

First

Corinthians

chapter one

beginning in

verse four.

Sounds a

little familiar

to our

Philippian

text.

He wrote,

I give

thanks to

my God

always for

you because

of the

grace of

God that

was given

you in

Christ Jesus

that in

every way

you were

enriched in

him in

all speech

and knowledge

even as

the testimony

about Christ

was confirmed

among you

so that you

were not

lacking in

any gift

as you

wait for

the revealing

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ who

will sustain

you to the

end guiltless

in the day

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

God is

faithful.

by whom

you were

called into

fellowship

of his

son Jesus

Christ our

Lord.

He's going

to spend

some chapters

telling them

all the

things that

they did

wrong but

he begins

in this

way.

Why was

Paul so

positive

about a

people who

were such

a mess?

Because

Paul gloried

not in

them but

in the

God who

had saved

them.

He had

given evidence

God's

grace to

them and

so therefore

he was

thankful

for them.

Further

Paul knew

what wretchedness

he had been

saved from.

He called

himself the

chief of

sinners.

So he was

humble and

he bore

!

patiently

with the

sinfulness

of others.

I wonder

how different

the church

might be

if we

became more

concerned

with our

own

sinfulness

and less

concerned

with the

sinfulness

of others.

Not

unconcerned

but less

concerned.

More

concerned with

our own

sinfulness

and less

concerned

with the

sinfulness

of others.

Perhaps

we would

see clearly

to take

the speck

out of our

brother's

eye if

the plank

was removed

from ours.

I think

the church

would look

so different

if we

extended the

kind of

grace to

others that

Christ

extends

to us.

So the

gospel affords

us this

togetherness.

It brings

us together.

Let's look

at some

ways that

it does

that.

So here's

your sub

points.

Number

one,

the gospel

affords us

togetherness

in standing

firm and

striving for

the faith

of the

gospel.

Standing

firm

and

striving.

Again,

verse 27,

I may

hear of

you that

you are

standing

firm in

one spirit

with one

mind,

striving

side by

side for

the faith

of the

gospel.

Standing

firm means

to be

stationary,

to be

unmoved.

This is a

Greek military

term commonly

used of

the front

line.

It pictures

a soldier

not being

pushed or

swayed.

but holding

his

position.

He's got

a spot

to stand

in where

he will

not be

moved.

Sometime

ask Clay

about Roman

military

tactics.

I'll spare

you my

horrible.

He'll

enthrall you

with it.

I'll bore

you with

it.

But they

were trained

for a

position.

And if

they gave

up their

position,

it all

fell apart.

The tactic

totally fell

apart.

They had

to stand

firm.

They had

to stay

in their

spot.

They didn't

do it

alone.

They did

it shoulder

to shoulder

to shoulder.

Striving

is from

the Greek.

Here I go.

Sunathleo,

I think,

from which

we get

the words

athlete

or

athletic.

it pictures

a maximum

effort.

If we

were running

a race,

this would

be a word

that would

help us

think of

sprinting,

not jogging.

This is

maximum

effort.

Standing

firm

and

striving

together.

What are

we to

stand firm

and strive

in?

One

spirit

and in

one

mind.

Paul

uses these

two phrases

to express

the entire

inner working

of a human

being.

We are to

stand firm

and strive

with all

of our

being.

And don't

lose that

we're meant

to do

so

together.

William

Hendrickson,

a 20th

century New

Testament

scholar,

wrote of

these two

words,

the unity

here envisioned

is one of

striving and

struggling

side by

side like

gladiators.

against a

common

foe.

We don't

need to

stand firm

and strive

if there's

not something

to stand

firm and

strive

against.

There's a

foe.

There's a

common

foe

because we're

meant to

stand firm

and strive

for the

faith

of the

gospel.

So anything

that is

pressing

against

is a

foe

to the

faith

of the

gospel.

It's

what we're

meant to

stand firm

and strive

together

against so

that we're

doing it

for the

faith

of the

gospel.

Paul here

is referring

to the

objective

truth

of the

gospel.

We're

to stand

firm and

strive for

the

apostles

teaching,

Acts chapter

Acts 2 · chapter mention

2 and

verse 42,

for sound

doctrine,

Titus chapter

Titus 2 · chapter mention

2 and

verse 1,

and for

the faith

that was

once for

all delivered

to the

saints,

Jude chapter

3.

Now as

an aside,

this is not

found in

our text,

I think the

church in

our day is

going to

need to

learn,

so expect

this coming

in the

coming months,

how to do

theological

triage.

I know that

most of you

don't work

in an

emergency room,

maybe one

of you

does,

but if a

bus full

of people

were in

an accident,

all of those

people would

be in

various

conditions

as they're

rushed into

the emergency

room,

and what

doctors,

sometimes charge

nurses do,

is they very

quickly do

triage,

they establish

who is

most severely

injured and

who is less

severely injured,

so they can

address the

needs of the

room.

That's why

if you've

ever broken

your arm and

gone to the

emergency room,

you sit for

hours,

because you're

alright,

you're going

to be okay,

they're going

to take care

of you,

if you go

in with a

one-hoe-two

fever,

they're going

to make you

sit for a

really,

really long

time,

but somebody

with a

bullet wound

is going

to get

rushed into

the back,

so this is

what happens

in an

emergency room,

triage,

and we need

to learn how

to do that

theologically,

what are

what are the

things that

first order

issues for

Christians,

what are the

things we're

going to

stand firm

and strive

together

because they're

under attack,

it's those

first,

those primary

doctrines that

were meant to

battle about,

that's the

stuff,

all we've got

to get in

there,

we've got to

make sure the

purity of the

gospel is

preserved,

that's a fight

worth fighting,

right,

that's a

thing to

die for,

so many

Christians today

are in

battles over

tertiary

issues,

unimportant

things,

they don't

matter at

all,

just

embittered

toward one

another over

stuff that

does not

matter,

and there's a

lot that matters

in these

first order

doctrines,

there's plenty

for us to

be standing

firm and

striving for,

that stuff

needs to be

laid aside,

so we're to

do this work,

this is an

important work

for us to

be doing,

and I'm

going to

take you to

a parallel

text,

it's a bit

lengthy,

so if you'll

turn there

with me,

keep yourself

marked in

Philippians,

go to

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

I'm going to

read you

16 verses,

I'm going

to do it

with some

haste,

with a

couple

little

comments,

beginning in

verse 1,

Ephesians 4,

Paul writes,

I therefore,

a prisoner for

the Lord,

urge you to

walk in a

manner worthy

of the

calling to

which you

have been

called,

similar

language,

yes,

with all

humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one

another in

love,

eager to

maintain the

unity of the

spirit in the

bond of peace,

right,

it's a

unity that

exists because

we're in

Christ,

we have the

spirit,

therefore,

and that's the

thing we have

to work to

preserve,

there is one

body and one

spirit,

just as you

are called to

the one hope

that belongs to

your call,

one Lord,

one faith,

one baptism,

one God and

father of all,

who is over all

and through all

and in all,

but grace was

given to each

one of us

according to

the measure of

Christ's gift,

therefore it

says,

when he ascended

on high,

he led a host

of captives

and gave gifts

to men,

and saying he

ascended,

what does it

mean but that

he also descended

into the lower

regions,

the earth,

he who descended

is the one who

also ascended

far above all

the heavens that

he might fill

all things,

and I love that

parenthetical

insertion because

Paul just loves

to speak about

the glory of

Christ,

right,

inserts that

into the middle

of this,

verse 11,

and he gave

the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

and teachers,

I would argue,

although not at

length now,

that the apostles

and prophets,

we have as a

gift to the

church in the

form of the

scripture,

right,

we've got the

Old Testament

and we've got

the New Testament,

we have people

who are gifted

in evangelism,

who are meant

to help all

of us be

evangelists,

and we have

shepherd teachers,

pastors who

shepherd the

flock,

for what purpose,

why,

why were the

gifts given

to the church,

verse 12,

to equip the

saints for the

work of ministry,

your work,

the work of

ministry,

for building up

the body of

Christ,

until we all

attain to the

unity of the

faith,

the word there,

the faith,

and of the

knowledge of the

Son of God,

to mature manhood,

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ,

why,

so that we may

no longer be

children,

tossed to

and fro,

standing firm,

striving together,

is the opposite

of this,

being tossed

to and fro

by the waves

and carried

about by

every wind

of doctrine,

by human

cunning,

by craftiness

and deceitful

schemes.

Together,

together,

we're meant

to stand firm,

together,

we're meant

to strive so

that this

isn't happening.

How?

Paul says,

rather,

speaking the truth

in love,

we are to grow

up in every way

into him

who is the head

into Christ,

from whom the

whole body,

joined and held

together by

every joint

with which it

is equipped,

when each part

is working

properly,

makes the body

grow so that

it builds itself

up in love.

So just picture,

so the reason I

pulled you there,

you can go back

to Philippians

now if you'd

like to,

right?

We are being

exhorted to

stand firm

and strive

together for

the faith

of the gospel.

And Paul is

using these

strong,

this really

strong language,

this military

type of language,

but how are we

doing that,

though?

How do we

do that work?

I think Ephesians

helps us

see it.

Humility

and gentleness

and patience

and forbearance

and eagerness.

we're meant

to speak

the truth

to one another.

It's a much

different picture

of a lot

of what I

see going on

out around

us,

the type

of contention

that we see

happening

around us.

It's troubling

to me

and I hope

it's not

true

of us.

I hope

it's not

true

of us.

Paul goes

on to say

in verse 28,

this is the

second sub

point,

togetherness

in sanctification.

He says,

and not

frightened

in anything

by your

opponents.

We don't

have to

rage against

the machine

because our

God reigns

providentially

over the

machine.

Right?

We are

secure

in him.

Paul says

this is a

clear sign

to them

of their

destruction,

but of

your

salvation

and that

from God.

Beloved,

as I made

the point

already,

opposition

to the

gospel

should

be

expected.

Peter wrote

1 Peter

1 Peter 4:12

chapter 4

verse 12,

beloved,

do not

be surprised

at the

fiery trial

when it

comes upon

you to

test you

as though

something

strange

were happening

to you.

Of course

opposition

comes to

those who

are followers

of Christ

because the

world

crucified

Christ.

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse

12.

It surprises

me how many

Christ followers

have never

heard this

verse.

You can

count yourself

in a minority,

I think,

in a moment.

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:12

chapter 3

verse 12.

Indeed,

all who desire

to live a

godly life

in Christ

Jesus

will be

persecuted.

And I don't

find any

wiggle room

in that.

How do we

escape that?

By an overly

strict definition

of persecution,

possibly.

It's possible

that we think

of persecution

only as

being burned

alive in a

fire or

being put

in an arena

with lions,

which certainly

is persecution.

Maybe that's

the only way

we think

about it.

I think we

need to

broaden the

definition,

though,

to see that

not being

liked,

being passed

over for

a promotion,

having to

leave a job

altogether,

being uncomfortable

at a family

gathering.

These kinds

of things

are a

rejection

of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

For to be

godly in

this world,

many are

not going

to want

to hear

what we

have to

say.

I read it

to you

already,

John chapter

John 15:18

15,

verse 18

and following.

Do we

really think

that we're

greater

than our

master?

I hope

not.

I hope

not.

But Paul

says that we

shouldn't be

frightened in

anything by

our opponents,

and we

should not

be frightened

because if

God is for

us, who

can be

against us?

If God

is on our

side, who

cares what

other people

think?

William

Gurnall,

who's a

17th century

Anglican

preacher,

this is the

quotation on

your bulletin

this morning,

said,

let your

hope of

heaven master

your fear

of death.

We have

the promise

of heaven

if we're

in Christ.

God is

our God.

Why should

you be

afraid to

die who

hope to

live by

dying?

Paul says

that the

immovable

nature of

the believer's

faith gives

testimony to

our God.

It speaks

to the

guilt of

our

persecutors

and it

speaks to

our

confidence

in our

deliverer.

Christians

await an

unshakable

city and

recognize that

this world

is not

our home.

This is

temporary.

This is

fleeting.

This is

not our

dwelling

place.

I'm going to

give you

another long

cross-reference.

Return with

me, if you

will, to

Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8.

I can't

bear to