Philippians (Lesson 11)

And very pleasant Christian greetings to each and every one of you.

I'm Brother James, and I welcome you once again to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.

We come to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

It's our honor, our privilege, our joy to speak to you over this radio station, the wonderful words of life, and to talk to you about our Savior, our Redeemer, our friend, our Lord, our master, our guide, our hope, our soon coming Lord Jesus Christ.

We are studying the Bible book of Philippians, the Bible book of Philippians, and we have in probably six, seven, eight, I don't know, nine, I'm not even sure how many programs now, but we are zipping right along.

We're all the way to Ephesians chapter one and verse number fifteen.

And in this section of Scripture we have the very curious idea addressed of people who are preaching about Jesus.

They might even be giving the correct gospel regarding Jesus, but their heart motive and many of their actions are not proper and not correct.

This has to be addressed somewhere in the Bible.

If not, you'd sure wonder as you looked around how God could have left out something so important and something that so many people obviously need to hear.

The Bible says in Philippians one verse fifteen, some indeed preach Christ, even of envy and strife, and some also of good will.

The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.

Not what then, notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice yea and will rejoice.

For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.

So we have in this passage two main points.

Number one, people are preaching Christ, but not doing so with a right heart, motive, and attitude, and then a man who is benefiting from the preaching of some, being hurt by the preaching of others, rather than wage war against those who are preaching Christ, states that he rejoices that Christ is preached and stays above that frame.

Let's break the passage down.

First of all, in verse number fifteen, some indeed preach Christ.

Now this is opposed to the many options that are available to them.

They could preach nature worship, but they do not.

They could preach humanism and man worship, they do not.

They could preach Buddha and hopeless reincarnation.

They do not.

They could preach Mohammed and the sacking of villages and the collecting of wives, but they do not.

They could preach Mormonism and echo the Satan Satan's lie of Genesis three, ye shall be as gods, but they don't.

Instead they are preaching Jesus Christ.

Now whatever the heart motive behind the one who preaches Jesus, that individual is at least preaching about the true and living Savior, the one and only Son of God sent into the world to die for sinners, the only one who conquered sin, death, and hell, and then rose triumphantly over the grave, that he might save anyone and everyone that puts their faith and trust in him.

So it is a good thing to preach Christ, especially when you consider the alternatives.

You could be preaching some false pagan deity, you could be preaching some vain religion of deeds and works, you could be preaching some sort of denominational loyalty, but instead, instead, these people were preaching Christ.

And so Paul was excited and happy about that truth.

Now he might have wanted more truth, he might have wanted a better presenter of truth, if that's a proper word at all, but he took what he could get and was glad of it.

Secondly, somebody preached Christ even of envy, even of envy.

It seems that many Christian ministers spend much of their time preaching and teaching in such a way as to show that their real hope is not to see men come to Jesus and not to see souls saved, but that someone else whom God is using should be torn down, torn up, ignored, harmed, hindered in some way, because for reasons known only to God and to that individual preacher, they are envious, they are jealous of what God is using another man to do, envious and jealous of how God is using another minister, and this is a dreadful way, this is a dreadful way for someone to approach the pulpit or the radio microphone or the conference platform.

There is error that must be exposed.

There is heresy that must be fought against, but the motive should never be, could never be envy.

It should rather be a love for the truth, and when that is the proper motive, when that is the motive, then our assault will be upon falsehood, not upon the individual.

See, the issue is truth and error.

The issue is truth and error.

The messenger is just a secondary matter, and we we should keep that in mind.

Then he says, somebody preached Christ even of envy, and strife.

And strife.

I suppose every denomination, I suppose every camp or group of Christians has their little crowd within it that just seems like the only thing they want to do is fight, quarrel, wage war, tear up.

They could give you in their sleep a list of things they are against, but would have a hard time naming the things they are for.

At least that's the impression that they give.

I'm telling you it is it is absolutely essential that we earnestly contend for the faith.

It is absolutely necessary that we take on any and every teaching, any and every doctrine that would cost people their souls or would hinder people in their walk with God.

However, this strife and contention, this bitterness, this uh hateful attitude that's so evident in the way men speak and the things that men say, you must understand that that is not that is not the way God would have us not not to listen, not to conduct ourselves.

It's it's more than that.

That's not the way God would have us to think in our hearts.

God doesn't want our hearts filled with strife.

He wants our hearts filled with peace and with love.

Now, we must deal with the mad dog as it charges through the yard towards someone's children.

We must deal with the wild animal as it springs from the wood to harm the sheep in the flock.

We we have to confront and take on those things which are hurtful to the cause of Jesus Christ.

However, however, we must have a proper spirit about us, governed and controlled by the Lord.

So but but some preach Christ of envy and some preach Christ of strife, and then there's some who preach Christ of good will.

That's what they want.

They want God's good will to be done.

They want sinners to be saved.

They want Christians to be strengthened and edified.

That's their motive, that's their desire.

They are not at war with other preachers of the gospel.

They are not jealous of other preachers of the gospel.

They are they are simply proclaiming truth for God's sake, for truth's sake, and for the sake of their hearers.

In verse sixteen we read that some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also goodwill, the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely.

Okay, now hear me, I'm gonna be as careful as I know how to be, and and say this, try to say this the best way I know how.

It is possible to be sincere in your contention, and then it is imp then it is possible to be contentious because you are insincere.

Now I believe the Holy Spirit instructed us through these words of the apostle Paul, so that we would understand that it is beyond our ability to determine who is contentious because they are sincere and who is just contentious and lacks sincerity.

I don't know that you could tell that.

Someone may by disposition, someone may because of where they are in their walk with the Lord, someone may because of their life's experiences be very, very, very contentious and yet be completely sincere.

Let me give you an example.

I I'll try my best to give you an example.

You see on your television, no, no, I take that back.

You wouldn't see this on your television, it would never make television.

You see in a pulpit or in a public place a man blasting away with everything he's got at those who produce, peddle, sell, and distribute alcoholic beverages.

He is waging war against the liquor trade.

He is crying aloud with every verse of scripture and every ounce of emotion that he can muster, pleading with people to abstain from intoxicating beverages.

He cries aloud against the harm, the damage, the ruin wrought by these drinks.

Why is he doing that?

Well, because some bartender sold booze to a patron until that patron was staggering drunk, and then watched that man walk out of that bar, get in his car, drive down the road and kill that man's precious daughter.

Now that man is contentious, and he is as sincere as he can be in that contention.

Now here's another man.

Here's another man.

He stands, he stands and proclaims that God warns men not to look upon the wine when it's red moving in the cup.

He warns men that woe is upon those that put the bottle to their neighbors' lips.

He is preaching in his Sunday morning sermon, albeit briefly, he is preaching against the dangers of alcoholic beverages and of intoxication.

Then he will go home to his refrigerator with a little bit of beer in it and a little bit of wine in it, because social drinking is not all that big a deal.

That man may be contending, but he's not sincere.

He's not sincere.

So it is impossible, in most cases, for you to know whether or not a man is sincerely contending or contending without sincerity, and that's why the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul, I just leave that, I leave that determination to God.

I stay out of that part of the equation because I can't know.

And then there are those, verse 16 says, who preach Christ of contention not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds.

I've got to tell you this.

It's the only way to make the verse understandable to you.

I I've got to tell you this.

There are people who are ministers, pastors, evangelists, bishops, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and they have lived a careful, cautious, calculated, socially acceptable Christian life.

They have lived for the Lord in such a way as to make certain that it never costs them anything publicly or privately to live for Jesus.

They go only as far as John Q Public finds acceptable.

They go only as far as their business contacts find acceptable.

When the news media begins to criticize a church or a preacher for its bold stand for righteousness, such individuals will stand in their pulpits, sit before their Sunday school classes, or talk at their business luncheons and side with the news media against the Bible believing preacher and Bible believing congregation in hopes that the added pressure from the so-called Christian community, which is brought alongside and in league with the pressure from the ungodly satanic lost community, will be enough to get those radical fanatic Christians to back down and stop their street preaching, stop their preaching against adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness, abortion, and so forth.

You have Christians in America that do not want to live a biblical Christian life because of what it will cost them in the community, and so they side with the community against biblical Christianity, hoping, hoping that will make things easier for them.

Now that's the absolute fact.

In other parts of the world, Christians are persecuted sorely for their fate, some imprisoned, some tortured, some killed.

It is a very common thing in parts of this world where it could cost you everything to stand for Jesus.

It is very common for those who profess to be Christians to side with a government that persecutes Christians for their own safety and well being, and they would be glad to see the zealous, Bible believing, God honoring underground church persecuted to conformity or extinction in order to preserve their own political safety and material well being.

I wish that wasn't true.

But it is true.

It's absolutely true.

It is heartbreaking, but it's true.

Now the Bible says in verse seventeen, the other, the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.

The majority, the majority of saved born again men who preach the gospel, women who witness for Jesus Christ, the majority of them love the Lord, love the Lord's preachers, would be heartbroken, our heart broken over the suffering of other members of the body of Christ the world over.

They love Jesus and want him proclaimed not only in a truthful manner, but in an acceptable manner.

They love preachers who preach the truth and lift up Jesus Christ.

Their motivation, their motivation is to be a help to the saved and to the lost.

They are not in competition with other preachers, they do not want to see the destruction of other preachers, they find no pleasure at all in ruining one man's church or reputation for the benefit of their own congregation.

Nevertheless, Paul, who was set unwavering, set, unmovable, set, not changing his mind, set, not altering his methods, who was set for the The defense of the gospel said What then?

Since I can't stop strife motivated preachers, since I can't stop contention and envy motivated preachers, I'll just leave them alone.

And since I cannot at the moment join love motivated preachers, I'll just cheer them on.

Look what he said, notwithstanding.

Every way, whether in pretense, they're fakers, they're phonies, they're just professional ministers earning a paycheck.

But if they tell the truth of the gospel and people get saved, or in truth, they're real, saved, Bible believing, genuine articles, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached.

I therein do rejoice.

Yea, and will rejoice.

Now there's the right heart.

There's the right heart.

I'll fight what I can fight, I'll overturn what I can overturn, I'll straighten out what I can straighten out, I'll do what I can do, and then I'll have to leave the rest up to God.

Let me give you an example.

You should recall, if not, read it today, it'll only take you a half hour at the most.

You should recall the book of Jonah.

Jonah went to Nineveh eventually.

He took a little whale detour, but eventually Jonah went to Nineveh.

He preached God's word.

And the entire city believed and was converted.

The preacher did not want to go.

The preacher did not love the people to whom he was preaching.

The preacher grew angry with God as a result of the people there being converted and being spared after he preached to them.

This man Jonah is no good at the start of the book.

He's no good in the middle of the book.

He's no good at the end of the book.

This man Jonah from start to finish is a rat.

And when he opened his mouth and preached the truth, God blessed and honored the truth.

Men and women and boys and girls believed and responded to the truth, and an entire city was spared the wrath of God.

Because a man preached the truth.

You know what I say to that?

Thank God that man preached the truth.

Thank God, so much wonderful blessing grew out of that preaching.

You say, What do you think about Jonah?

I wouldn't want anything to do with him.

You say, Well, what do you think about Jonah?

He's quite obviously got a bad heart.

You say, What do you think about Jonah?

He's not worth the time of day.

But I sure am glad I didn't get in his way and stop him from going to preach in that city because his motives and his heart were questionable.

There's a judgment seat of Christ.

Time, listen, time tells the tale.

It always has, it always will.

But the best thing to do is preach the truth, preach against the error, and make certain that if someone needs to be brought down, you let God bring them down.

And if someone needs to be removed, you let God remove them.

God knows what he's doing.

God knows what to do, God knows how to do it.

I'd leave these matters in his hands and try and busy myself with sincerely preaching the gospel in love, encouraging and working with those that are sincerely preaching the gospel in love, and keeping my distance from and staying out of the way of those who seem to be filled with strife and contention.

But if they're preaching salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven, I'm going to stay out of their way.

Well, that's Philippians 1, verse all the way down through verse 18.

We're really just flying, flying by.

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Until then, I'm Brother James.

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